Inside the Stargazer's Palace : The Transformation of Science in 16th-Century Northern Europe

Step inside the dazzling world of the sixteenth-century scientist.

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus declared the earth revolved around the Sun, overturning centuries of scholastic presumption. A new age was coming into view – one guided by observation, technology and logic.

But omens and elixirs did not disappear from the sixteenth-century laboratory. Charms and potions could still be found nestled between glistening brass instruments and leather-bound tomes. The line between the natural and supernatural remained porous, yet to be defined.

From the icy Danish observatory of Tycho Brahe, to the smoky, sulphur-stained workshop of John Dee, Violet Moller tours the intellectual heart of early European science. Exploring its rich, multidisciplinary culture, Inside the Stargazer’s Palace reveals a dazzling forgotten world, where all knowledge, no matter how arcane, could be pursued in good faith.

***'In this fascinating study of the early scientific revolution, when experimental thought was beginning to emerge from Medieval scholasticism, Violet Moller brings to life the trailblazers of this new age.' Paul Strathern, author of The Other Renaissance'Inside the Stargazer's Palace plunges us into an irresistible network of touchy scientists, unpredictable patrons and religious controversy in the sixteenth century, antechamber of the modern world. Violet Moller is an assured and expert guide to this world, writing with a light touch and an infectious love of her subject.