Aubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood, who was working on his own collection of biographies. With time, Aubrey's biographical researches went beyond mere assistance to Wood and became a project in its own right.[1]
Aubrey was careful, wherever possible, to seek out and talk with those who had been acquainted with his subjects. His sociable nature and his wide circle of friends helped him in this pursuit. At his death, Aubrey left his biographical writings in a state of chaos. It has been the task of later editors to organise the manuscripts (held at the Bodleian Library) into readable form.
AfterlifeEdit
Aubrey's Brief Lives has been loved for generations for its colourful gossipy tone and for the glimpses it provides of the unofficial sides of its subjects. Aubrey's use of informants and his eye for the unusual provides much more vivid pictures than a biography based on documents could. He is frank but never malicious.
Patrick Garland wrote and directed a play Brief Lives based on Aubrey's work; featuring Roy Dotrice as Aubrey. The production has been performed worldwide since 1969.[2]
In 2008, Aubrey's Brief Lives was a five-part drama serial on BBC Radio 4. Writer Nick Warburton intertwined some of Aubrey's biographical sketches with the story of the turbulent friendship between Aubrey and Wood. Abigail le Fleming produced and directed.[3]
Levy, F. J. (1984). "John Aubrey. Brief Lives by Richard Barber". Albion. The North American Conference on British Studies. 16 (1): 47–49. doi:10.2307/4048911. ISSN 0095-1390. JSTOR 4048911.
Reynolds, Gillian (2 December 2008). "Gillian Reynolds: the week in radio". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
Walker, Tim (30 January 2008). "Two old stagers find vigour in Brief Lives". The Spectator. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
brief, lives, this, article, about, collection, biographies, play, patrick, garland, play, graphic, novel, sandman, novel, anita, brookner, novel, collection, short, biographies, written, john, aubrey, 1626, 1697, last, decades, 17th, century, john, aubrey, au. This article is about a collection of biographies For the play by Patrick Garland see Brief Lives play For the graphic novel see The Sandman Brief Lives For the novel by Anita Brookner see Brief Lives novel Brief Lives is a collection of short biographies written by John Aubrey 1626 1697 in the last decades of the 17th century John Aubrey author of Brief Lives Contents 1 Writing 2 Afterlife 3 Notes and references 4 Sources 5 Further reading 6 External linksWriting EditAubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood who was working on his own collection of biographies With time Aubrey s biographical researches went beyond mere assistance to Wood and became a project in its own right 1 Aubrey was careful wherever possible to seek out and talk with those who had been acquainted with his subjects His sociable nature and his wide circle of friends helped him in this pursuit At his death Aubrey left his biographical writings in a state of chaos It has been the task of later editors to organise the manuscripts held at the Bodleian Library into readable form Afterlife EditAubrey s Brief Lives has been loved for generations for its colourful gossipy tone and for the glimpses it provides of the unofficial sides of its subjects Aubrey s use of informants and his eye for the unusual provides much more vivid pictures than a biography based on documents could He is frank but never malicious The Brief Lives includes biographies of such figures as Francis Bacon Robert Boyle Thomas Browne John Dee Sir Walter Raleigh Edmund Halley Ben Jonson Thomas Hobbes John Ogilby William Petty and William Shakespeare There have been many modern editions Patrick Garland wrote and directed a play Brief Lives based on Aubrey s work featuring Roy Dotrice as Aubrey The production has been performed worldwide since 1969 2 In 2008 Aubrey s Brief Lives was a five part drama serial on BBC Radio 4 Writer Nick Warburton intertwined some of Aubrey s biographical sketches with the story of the turbulent friendship between Aubrey and Wood Abigail le Fleming produced and directed 3 Notes and references Edit Levy 1984 Walker 2008 Reynolds 2008 Sources EditLevy F J 1984 John Aubrey Brief Lives by Richard Barber Albion The North American Conference on British Studies 16 1 47 49 doi 10 2307 4048911 ISSN 0095 1390 JSTOR 4048911 Reynolds Gillian 2 December 2008 Gillian Reynolds the week in radio The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 22 February 2018 Walker Tim 30 January 2008 Two old stagers find vigour in Brief Lives The Spectator Retrieved 22 January 2018 Further reading EditAubrey John 2015 Bennett Kate ed John Aubrey Brief Lives with An Apparatus for the Lives of our English Mathematical Writers Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 9780199689538 External links Edit Brief Lives chiefly of Contemporaries set down by John Aubrey between the Years 1669 amp 1696 edited by Andrew Clark Volume I A H at the Internet Archive note this edition is not complete Volume II I Y at the Internet Archive A few Lives from Brief Lives at Druidic org Thomas Allen Elizabeth Broughton Thomas Harcourt Mary Herbert William Shakespeare and Thomas Hobbes Mathematician biographies archived in John Aubrey s Brief Lives nbsp Brief Lives public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brief Lives amp oldid 1175772343, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
