The portrait Bowen paints of this controversial man, Francis Bacon (1561-1626), balances the outward life and actions of Bacon with the seemingly contradictory aspects of his refined philosophical reflections. As Lord Chancellor of England, Bacon was impeached by Parliament for taking bribes in office, convicted, and banished from London and the law courts. In a prayer Bacon composed during the interval following his punishment, he reveals that the dichotomy of his existence was no more deeply felt than by himself, and he readily admits that his obligations to society were not as suited to his nature as the study of philosophy, science, and law.
Modern scholars hold Bacon's philosophical works, Novum Organum, Advancement of Learning, and The New Atlantis, as his greatest achievements. Bowen's story reveals a man whose genius it was not to immerse himself in the rigor of scientific experimentation, but to realize what questions science should ask, and thereby reach beyond the status quo and appeal to the wider imagination of his generation. In his writings, Bacon challenged established social and religious orders, raised questions about the mind/body relation and the role of dreams, and foresaw the development of the modern research university. It is Bacon's legacy to have gone beyond his age and, out of pure intuition, anticipate the concerns of future generations.
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Francis Bacon—son of the Lord Keeper of the Seal, one of the most promising, gifted young men at the court of Queen Elizabeth—was heir by birth and by disposition to a central spot in the Queen's service. Yet upon his father's death he was to find himself in relation to the Queen very like a supplicant, forever "next the door." There he was to remain, his political hopes fanned with half-promises for twenty-seven interminable years. His forthrightness had offended the Queen; thus, his suits to serve the state were refused or passed over. He was to hear himself described as that man who "spangled his speech with unusual words" and made to observe the rise of men of lower birth. Such a man was Sir Edward Coke, his antagonist in the courts and in private (they had both sought the same woman for wife), into whose "lap the prizes showered." It was not until the accession of James I that Bacon was to step in front of Coke and receive the appointment of Lord Chancellor.
Throughout history Francis Bacon's reputation has remained sullied as a result of his impeachment for corruption at the height of his career. Now Catherine Drinker Bowen, as only a biographer of her supreme stature could do, has laid before us the circumstances of Bacon's life and environment and left us to judge his deeds. Readers of Mrs. Bowen's biography of Sir Edward Coke, The Lion and the Throne, will be fascinated to see another side of the English law and another side indeed of Sir Edward. She presents her book scenically, like a play in five acts, displaying as always her remarkable flair for that telling, intimate glimpse into a man's life which reveals character beyond a doubt.
Bacon's dramatic life turned round a lifelong inner conflict, the struggle for understanding so evident in his books and vast enterprises ("knowing myself," he wrote, "by inward calling fitter to hold a book than to play a part") and the striving for political favor and position which he found irresistible. His life struggle is set against the glittering luxury of Elizabeth's competitive court, where, he wrote, "The standing is slippery, and the regress a downfall or at least an eclipse, which is a melancholy thing." At last gowned, robed, furred, Lord Chancellor Bacon rode the London streets with his retinue of attendants. Thus his impeachment, coming as it did after perhaps the longest striving for state position in history, was unexpected and startling. In the chapter called "Impeachment," Mrs. Bowen has set before us this scene in Parliament and in Bacon's London mansion more intimately than it has ever before been presented.
This is a companion book not only to The Lion and the Throne but to Yankee from Olympus and John Adams—another side of the long story and struggle for the rights of man under the law.
Catherine Drinker Bowen has lived in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, for over twenty years; however, research for her famous biographies has called her all over the United States, Europe and Russia. Her eminent works include Beloved Friend: The Story of Tchaikowsky and Nadejda von Meck; Free Artist: The Story of Anton and Nicholas Rubinstein; Yankee from Olympus: Justice Holmes and His Family; John Adams and the American Revolution; and The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke. Her earlier work, Friends and Fiddlers, tells of the joy and desperation of a musical life. Her Adventures of a Biographer is a personal reminiscence of the exciting career upon which Mrs. Bowen embarked when she traveled to Russia to research for Beloved Friend.
Jacket design by Klaus Gemming
—from the dust jacket
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