For anyone interested in the scientific revolution these essays are compulsory reading. HISTORY A fresh view of the formative years of the Royal Society. `Hunter's reputation as one of the foremost students of Restoration science in England can only be further enhanced by this volume.' NATURE `For anyone interested in the scientific revolution these essays are compulsory reading. Elegantly written and carefully researched, they are a welcome addition to the already extensive literature on the early years of the Royal Society.'HISTORY In a series of detailed case studies, Michael Hunterpresents a fresh view of the formative years of Britain's oldest scientific institution; The Royal Society of London, founded in 1660.

"Hunter's reputation as one of the foremost students of Restoration science in England can only be further enhanced by this volume. NATURE For anyone interested in the scientific revolution these essays are compulsory reading. Elegantly written and carefully researched, they are a welcome addition to the already extensive literature on the early years of the Royal Society. HISTORY Hunter brings a wealth of manuscript material - much of it new and some of it reproduced in the book - to bear on these often complex questions about the institutionalization of science in seventeenth-century England. Margaret J. Osler Every student of the Royal Society, of Restoration natural philosophy and of the early institutionalization of science will read with profit this work of the highest standard of historical scholarship." - EHR