Overview

In Prospero's America, Walter W. Woodward examines the transfer of alchemical culture to America by John Winthrop, Jr., one of English colonisation's early giants. Winthrop participated in a pan-European network of natural philosophers who believed alchemy could improve the human condition and hasten Christ's Second Coming. Woodward demonstrates the influence of Winthrop and his philosophy on New England's cultural formation: its settlement, economy, religious toleration, Indian relations, medical practice, witchcraft prosecution, and imperial diplomacy. Prospero's America reconceptualises the significance of early modern science in shaping New England hand-in-hand with Puritanism and politics. Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia.

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9781469600871

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Reviews

Intriguing. . . . Thoroughly researched, highly readable, and insightful. -- Early American Literature

[A] wide ranging study. . . . An excellent, adventurous introduction to the place of alchemy in early New England culture and by far the best scholarly integration of Winthrop's alchemical interests with his other pursuits. -- American Historical Revie

[A] wide ranging study. . . . An excellent, adventurous introduction to the place of alchemy in early New England culture and by far the best scholarly integration of Winthrop's alchemical interests with his other pursuits.--American Historical Review

No one until now has made a sustained attempt to integrate John Winthrop the Younger's pansophic, medical, and religious views into a coherent account where alchemy played a major role. . . . Woodward's book should breathe a vigorous new life into the study of early New England's complex religious, intellectual, and material culture. --William R. Newman, Indiana University

[A] wide ranging study. . . . An excellent, adventurous introduction to the place of alchemy in early New England culture and by far the best scholarly integration of Winthrop's alchemical interests with his other pursuits.--American Historical Review <p/>

Author Information

Walter W. Woodward is Connecticut state historian and assistant professor of history at the University of Connecticut, USA.

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