Flesh in the Age of Reason

Bol

'As an introduction to early modern thinking and the impact of past ideas on present lives, this book can find few equals and no superiors. Porter is a witty, humane writer with an extraordinary vocabulary and a sparkling sense of fun. Whether he is quoting from obscure medical texts or analysing scabrous diaries, dishing the dirt on long-dead bigwigs or evoking sympathy for human suffering, his grasp is masterly and his erudition appealing. I wish I could read it again for the first time: you can.' Times Educational Supplement, Book of the Week In this startlingly brilliant sequel to the prize-winning ENLIGHTENMENT Roy Porter completes his lifetime's work, offering a magical, enthusiastic and charming account of the writings of some of the most attractive figures ever to write English.

Bol Partner

The gloomy, anguished fears and concerns of the great English writers of the Civil War period (Milton, Bunyan et all) are in many ways completely baffling and alien to us and yet 150 years later with writers such as Byron we feel totally at home with their view of the world. How did this extraordinary change happen? How did we become modern? In this sequel to the prize-winning Enlightenment , Roy Porter completes his lifetime's work, offering an account of the writings of some of the most attractive figures ever to write in English.