Brief Lives by John Aubrey: Selection Based Upon Existing Contemporary Portraits

London: The Folio Society, 1994. Folio Society. Eighth printing. The book is Like New. Tight and square with solid hinges and bindings, good tips, and clean dark grey and yellow boards. The textblock is clean with no writing, bookplate, or markings, and not BCE, ex-library, or remaindered. Black and white portraits throughout. Edited by Richard Barber. The slipcase is Near Fine with faint shelf wear. 324 pages. 6½ x 10" tall.

Aubrey’s “Brief Lives” is collection of 17th-century biographical sketches that blend historical facts with personal, often gossipy anecdotes about prominent 17th-century figures in various fields including science, literature, and politics. He gathered information from diverse sources and presents a more human and less formal portrait than traditional biographies. Aubrey's writing style is a unique mix of scholarship and informal, often witty observation, with a focus on personalities, physical details, and scandals, which was groundbreaking for its time.