Michael Hunter

A new history that overturns the received wisdom that science displaced magic in Enlightenment Britain--named a Best Book of 2020 by the Financial Times In early modern Britain, belief in prophecies, omens, ghosts, apparitions and fairies was commonplace. Among both educated and ordinary people the absolute existence of a spiritual world was taken for granted. Yet in the eighteenth century such certainties were swept away. Credit for this great change is usually given to science - and in particular to the scientists of the Royal Society. But is this justified? Michael Hunter argues that those pioneering the change in attitude were not scientists but freethinkers. While some scientists defended the reality of supernatural phenomena, these sceptical humanists drew on ancient authors to mount a critique both of orthodox religion and, by extension, of magic and other forms of superstition. Even if the religious heterodoxy of such men tarnished their reputation and postponed the general acceptance of anti-magical views, slowly change did come about. When it did, this owed less to the testing of magic than to the growth of confidence in a stable world in which magic no longer had a place.

The Decline of Magic

India Hicks

Matthew Mead

Ronda Carman

Inspirations from Celebrated Hosts

Entertaining at Home

Some things are better left alone... Everyone knows kids don't take things seriously. Running, playing, and exploring are the only things they care about. Jim and his friends were typical kids. They ran, played, and explored. Problem is, they made a mistake. They should have just ran and played. They didn't believe one of the local legends could actually be based on fact and went exploring. THey found more than they thought they would. Now, as an adult, the actions of their childhood have come back to haunt them. Something is stalking them. Taking them out one by one. If Jim can't figure out how to stop it he may lose everything. Including his life.

Come Get Me

John Aubrey and the Realm of Learning

Nicholas de Vere

This reference book is for all those interested in the Grail families or who wish to study further the ancient mythological, legendary and historical origins of their own lineage. It is the latest book in the "Dragon Legacy" series and contains the most comprehensive genealogies of the Houses of Vere, Weir and Collison published to date. Also published for the first time is the Dragon Descent of Jesus Christ from Satan, an explosive secret kept hidden for centuries by a few rare Gnostic sects, which calls into question some of the ancient identities and the interrelationships of figures we have become familiar with today. In the Interview with Tracy Twyman the reader will learn the true purpose Jesus had for Mary Magdalene, her cosmic identity and the real nature of his clandestine "church." In the excerpts from the work by Leonid Korablev, "The True Elves of Europe," we are introduced to the factual origin of Tolkien's Elves and their true basis in history. Numerous biographical notes and passages concerning the Grail line and the Vere family can be found throughout the book.

The Dragon Cede

An illustrated account of the history of the protection and appreciation of buildings, archaeological sites and other relics of the man-made past in Britain, which features contributions from a group of experts who examine key themes and episodes in the development of historical preservation.

The Rise of Heritage in Modern Britain

Preserving the Past

Alison Walker

Arthur MacGregor

This well-illustrated volume offers fresh perspectives on the great eighteenth-century physician, naturalist, and collector Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), whose extensive holdings formed the basis of the British Museum and its offspring, the Natural History Museum and the British Library. The colonial milieu within which Sloane operated gets prominence here, particularly the time he spent in Jamaica. Attention is paid to his enormous network of acquaintances and correspondents throughout the world as well as to the way his collecting activities permeated every aspect of his life. Other essays consider the museum specimens accumulated by Sloane—both natural and man-made—shedding new light on his aims for acquiring and organizing them. A fascinating look at the man behind three of the United Kingdom's most famous museums, From Books to Bezoars will appeal to students and scholars of eighteenth century studies, early modern science, and the history of the book.

Sir Hans Sloane and His Collections

From Books to Bezoars

Antonio Clericuzio

Lawrence M Principe

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was one of the most influential scientific and theological thinkers of his time. This is the first edition of his correspondence, transcribed from the original manuscripts. It is fully annotated, with an introduction and general index.

The Correspondence of Robert Boyle, 1636-1691 Vol 5

A provocative account of the seismic shift in attitude toward the supernatural in seventeenth and eighteenth century Britain

Britain in the Enlightenment

This book presents a new view of Robert Boyle (1627-91), the leading British scientist in the generation before Newton. It comprises a series of essays by scholars from Europe and North America that scrutinize Boyle's writing on science, philosophy and theology, bringing out the subtlety and complexity of his ideas. Particular attention is given to Boyle's interest in alchemy and to other facets of his ideas that might initially seem surprising in a leading advocate of the mechanical philosophy. Many of the essays use material from among Boyle's extensive manuscripts, which have recently been catalogued for the first time. The introduction surveys the state of Boyle studies and deploys the findings of the essays to offer a reevaluation of Boyle. The book also includes a complete bibliography of writings on Boyle since 1940.

Robert Boyle Reconsidered

Deployments in the Army suck. No two ways about it. You're away from friends, loved ones, and most of all anything resembling civilization. This one wasn't looking any different from what Sergeant Jebidiah Notch could tell. Yes, Jebidiah. Don't get hung up on the name. It's a sore point. Anyways, as soon as everyone was off the bus the end of the world starts. There's a saying a lot of military men like. You can pry my weapon from my cold, dead, hands. That might just come sooner than anyone thought. Yup, deployments suck. A total SNAFU just like normal but hey, that's just another day in the Army.

S. N. A. F. U. (Situation Nuts All F**k'n Undead)

In Confucius Beyond the Analects, Michael Hunter challenges the standard view of the Analects as the earliest and most authoritative source of the teachings

Confucius Beyond the Analects

Michael Cyril William Hunter

Reader in History Michael Hunter

Studies of specific figures - including John Evelyn, Christopher Wren, John Flamsteed -illuminate intellectual change in 17c.

Intellectual Change in Late Seventeenth-century Britain

Science and the Shape of Orthodoxy

This book provides an approachable exposition of the rationale of textual editing with special reference to texts from between 1550-1800. The volume explains how manuscript and printed texts were produced, indicating the implications of this for their editorial treatment and giving practical advice on how texts should be prepared and presented.

An Introduction to Principles and Practice

Editing Early Modern Texts

Robert Kirk

Magic, science and second sight in 17c Scottish Higlands, with new edition of Kirk's Secret Commonwealth.

Magic, Science, and Second Sight in Late Seventeenth-century Scotland

The Occult Laboratory

"I recognized that Michael Hunter knows what he is talking about the minute I opened this book. Hunter is the kind of guy--and the kind of work--that you get when you combine passion, creativity, inventiveness, and elbow grease. This book makes me hungry, and Michael Hunter makes me proud to be a hunter and angler." --Steven Rinella, outdoorsman, host of the TV series and podcast MeatEater, and author The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook Well-known hunter and respected wild-game chef, Michael Hunter, grew up in the great outdoors. Inspired by the endless bounty of the land, hunting, fishing, foraging, and cooking is a way of life for Hunter. Celebrating the resources of the wild, The Hunter Chef Cookbook features a collection of over 100 recipes and butchery guides, and stunning food and landscape photography. The book includes recipes for cooking big game, from moose and bison, to white tail deer and wild boar. Common small game features include wild turkey, duck, wild goose, ruffed grouse, as well as rabbit and squirrel. Fresh-water and salt-water fish recipes feature pickerel, wild salmon, rainbow trout, prawns, scallops, and more. A seasoned forager, Hunter offers an array of savoury and sweet recipes, incorporating wild ingredients, everything from mushrooms and leeks to sumac and berries.

Hunt, Fish, and Forage in Over 100 Recipes

The Hunter Chef Cookbook

Robert Hooke (1635-1703) was a genius whose wide-ranging achievements are at last receiving the recognition that they deserve. Long overshadowed by such eminent contemporaries as Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Christopher Wren, Hooke's own seminal contributions to science, architecture and technology are now being acclaimed in their own right. Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society when it was chartered in 1662 and author of the famous Micrographia (1665), Hooke also showed unparalleled ingenuity in designing machines and instruments, and played a crucial role as Surveyor to the City of London after the Great Fire. This volume represents a benchmark in the study of Hooke, bringing together a comprehensive set of studies of different aspects of his life, thought and artistry. Its sections deal with Hooke's life and reputation; his contributions to celestial mechanics and astronomy, and to speculative natural philosophy; the instruments that he designed; and his work in architecture and construction. The introduction places the studies in the context of our current understanding of Hooke and his milieu, while the book also contains a comprehensive bibliography. In all, it will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in a figure whose complexity and importance are becoming clear after centuries of neglect.

Tercentennial Studies

Robert Hooke

The significance of Robert Boyle (1627-91) as the most influential English scientist in the generation before Newton is now generally acknowledged, but the complexity and eclecticism of his ideas has also become increasingly apparent. This volume presents an important group of studies of Boyle by Michael Hunter, the leading expert on Boyle’s life and thought. It forms a sequel to two previous books: Hunter’s Robert Boyle: Scrupulosity and Science (2000) and The Boyle Papers: Understanding the Manuscripts of Robert Boyle (2007). Like them, it conveniently brings together material otherwise widely scattered in essay volumes and academic journals, while nearly a third of the book’s content is hitherto unpublished. The collection opens with a substantial introduction that places the studies that follow in the context of existing studies of Boyle; appended to it is an annotated edition of Boyle’s telling list of desiderata for science. The next three essays comprise a group of essentially biographical studies, exploring various aspects of Boyle’s life and intellectual evolution, after which three others provide further evidence of the ’convoluted’ Boyle divulged in Robert Boyle: Scrupulosity and Science. Finally, we have two chapters, one hitherto published only in French and the other not at all, which throw important light on topics that preoccupied Boyle in the last few years of his life - the supernatural and the exotic. Together, these essays add greater depth to our understanding of Boyle, both as an individual and as a natural philosopher.

Aspects of the Life and Thought of Robert Boyle (1627-91)

Boyle Studies

Printed images were ubiquitous in early modern Britain, and they often convey powerful messages which are all the more important for having circulated widely at the time. Yet, by comparison with printed texts, these images have been neglected, particularly by historians to whom they ought to be of the greatest interest. This volume helps remedy this state of affairs. Complementing the online digital library of British Printed Images to 1700 (www.bpi1700.org.uk), it offers a series of essays which exemplify the many ways in which such visual material can throw light on the history of the period. Ranging from religion to politics, polemic to satire, natural science to consumer culture, the collection explores how printed images need to be read in terms of the visual syntax understood by contemporaries, their full meaning often only becoming clear when they are located in the context in which they were produced and deployed. The result is not only to illustrate the sheer richness of material of this kind, but also to underline the importance of the messages which it conveys, which often come across more strongly in visual form than through textual commentaries. With contributions from many leading exponents of the cultural history of early modern Britain, including experts on religion, politics, science and art, the book's appeal will be equally wide, demonstrating how every facet of British culture in the period can be illuminated through the study of printed images.

Michael Hunter

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