Overview

In the aftermath of the English Civil War, the Restoration overturned England's medieval outlook and a new way of looking at the world allowed the genius of Isaac Newton (b. 1642) and his contemporaries to flourish. Newton had a long and eventful life apart from his scentific discoveries. He was born at the beginnings of the Civil War, his studies were disrupted by the twin disasters of the Great Plague and the Fire of London; a brilliant and enigmatic genius, Newton dabbled in alchemy, wrote over a million words on the Bible, quarrelled with his contemporaries and spent his last years as Master of the Royal Mint as well as President of the Royal Society. This book sets Newton's life and work against this dramatic intellectual rebirth; among his friends and contemporaries were Samuel Pepys, the colourful diarist, John Evelyn, the eccentric antiquarian, the astronomers Edmund Halley and John Flamsteed, and Christopher Wren, the greatest architect of his age. They were all instrumental in the founding of the Royal Society and their aim was nothing less than to examine the whole field of scientific knowledge.

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Reviews

Finished copies have now gone out for review. Paul is being interviewed on BBC RADIO BRISTOL on 12 June BBC RADIO LINCOLNSHIRE on 10 August. There have been local reviews in the BRISTOL OBSERVER and BRISTOL EVENING POST. THE NEW SCIENTIST are definitely reviewing and there was a good review in THE FINANCIAL TIMES this weekend: 'this accessible portrait'THE FINANCIAL TIMES 'this book

Isaac Newton is one of only a handful of scientists to be given the uncontested title of genius. His researches in mathematics, optics and gravity were not only exemplars of the scientific method and profoundly original in their time, they also laid the foundations for fields of exploration for years afterwards. His work on the laws of motion resisted revision for 250 years until the Theory of Relativity proposed by Einstein superseded it in the 20th century. The breadth and depth of Newton's explorations has probably never been equalled and, as well as his scientific work, he experimented in alchemy and wrote copiously on religious subjects. Newton was born into the turbulent world of the Civil War. In 1660 the Restoration of Charles II provided stability and the new king's interest in learning led to the formation of the Royal Society, which was to play a central part in the renaissance of scientific research. Aughton describes Newton's life in depth from his childhood and time at Cambridge through the publication of his Magnum Opus, the Principia, to his election as president of the Royal Society and his knighthood (the first awarded to a scientist). After the publication of the Principia Newton became a public figure, elected to Parliament and offered the position of the Master of the Royal Mint, although he continued to work on scientific topics which interested him until his death. The author sifts the known facts from the apocryphal and paints a picture of a reclusive, touchy man who nevertheless commanded great loyalty from his friends. He also outlines the scientific achievements on which Newton's reputation rests, and presents a vivid picture of the times, including a description of the plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London a year later. This is a very readable biography and a well-designed book, illustrated by a good collection of contemporary pictures. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Peter Aughton lectures at the University of the West of England. He is an expert on computers, mathematics and astronomy as well as being a gifted story teller who can turn the world of science and history into a wonderland of imagination and discovery. He is the author of Endeavour: the story of Captain Cook's first great epic voyage.

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