This beautifully illustrated volume brings together the essential works of John Aubrey - 17th-century English antiquary, biographer, and eccentric observer of the world - in one definitive collection. With a unique voice that blends curiosity, wit, and a pioneering spirit, Aubrey offers a remarkable window into the people, places, and superstitions of his time. Included in this collection: The Natural History of Wiltshire - A rich and often whimsical account of the folklore, geology, flora, fauna, and customs of Wiltshire, showcasing Aubrey's fascination with the natural world and early attempts at empirical observation. Miscellanies - A captivating compilation of stories, anecdotes, and beliefs on ghosts, dreams, omens, and strange phenomena, reflecting the era's blurred boundaries between science and superstition. Brief Lives - Aubrey's most celebrated work, offering intimate, anecdotal biographies of notable figures such as Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, John Milton, and others. These portraits are charmingly informal, filled with gossip, insight, and vivid personal details rarely found in traditional biographies. Aubrey's writing defies rigid classification - part historian, part folklorist, part storyteller. The Classic Collection of John Aubrey reveals a brilliant, quirky mind whose works laid the foundation for modern biography and cultural history. A treasure for lovers of literature, history, and the curious corners of the past. Contents: The Natural History of Wiltshire Miscellanies Brief Lives

A collection of sparkling gossipy biographical pieces of Aubrey's contemporaries, including Bacon, Jonson and Shakespeare, Brief Lives' glimpses into the unofficial side of these towering figures has won it an undying popularity, with Ruth Scurr's recent reimagined "autobiography" of Aubrey, breathing new life into this classic for the next generation of readers.