Description

By (author) Strathern Paul

Short /annotation:

A sweeping history of the Age of Reason, which shows how, although it was a time of progress in many areas, itwas also an era of brutality and intolerance, by the author of The Borgias and The Florentines.

:

A sweeping history of the Age of Reason, which shows how, although it was a time of progress in many areas, itwas also an era of brutality and intolerance, by the author of The Borgias and The Florentines.

During the 1600s, between the end of the Renaissance and the start of the Enlightenment, Europe lived through an era known as the Age of Reason. This was a revolutionary period which saw great advances in areas such as art, science, philosophy, political theory and economics.

However, all this was accomplished against a background of extreme political turbulence and irrational behaviour on a continental scale in the form of internal conflicts and international wars. Indeed, the Age of Reason itself was born at the same time as the Thirty Years” War, which would devastate central Europe to an extent that would not be seen again until the twentieth century.

By exploring all the key events and bringing to life some of the most influential characters of the era, including Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Newton, Descartes, Spinoza, Louis XIV and Charles I, Paul Strathern tells the story of this paradoxical age, while also counting the human cost of imposing the progress and modernity upon which the Western world was built.

Table of contents:
Prologue: Prologue 1: Reason and Rationale 2: Two Italian Artists 3: Spread of the Scientific Revolution 4: The English Civil War and Thomas Hobbes 5: The New World and the Golden Age of Spain 6: Two Transcendent Artists 7: The Money Men and the Markets 8: Two Artists of the Dutch Golden Age 9: The Sun King and Versailles 10: England Comes of Age 11: A Quiet City in South Holland 12: Exploration 13: A Courtly Interlude 14: Spinoza and Locke 15: The Survival and Spread of the Continent of Reason 16: New Realities 17: Logic Personified 18: On the Shoulders of Giants Epilogue: Epilogue

Review quote:

Strathern”s canvas is immense, yet the picture he paints is never less than pellucid, and packed with lively detail and fascinating facts

Review quote:

Strathern has a good eye for striking details and arresting anecdotes

Review quote:

Strathern combines diligent research with an exemplary narrative verve and keeps the pages turning

Review quote:

Strathern has done his research thoroughly, and tells a good story well

Review quote:

This is popular history at its narrative best – rich in colour, character and consequence

Review quote:

He [Strathern] is adroit in bringing together his personalities and wider currents and illuminates them with vivid detail.

Review quote:
Illuminating… Admirable… At every turn Strathern succeeds in demonstrating that those questions [he poses] have a rich and fascinating history, and that they emerged from a period peopled by extraordinary philosophers, scientists, poets and artists.

Biographical note:
Paul Strathern
studied philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin. He is a Somerset Maugham Award-winning novelist; author of two series of books – Philosophers in 90 Minutes and The Big Idea: Scientists who Changed the World; and several works of non-fiction, including The Borgias, The Florentines and The Other Renaissance.