Writing Under Tyranny: English Literature and the Henrician Reformation (review)
explores Bacon’s use and engagement with the language and process of contemporary exploration and discovery, noting that Bacon himself drew a congruity between policy and nature. Finally, Catherine Martin and William Lynch seek to reassess recent feminist critiques painting Bacon’s thought and writings as relentlessly patriarchal, and explore the methodological unity Bacon unwittingly bequeathed to the Royal Society, respectively. A useful addition to the ongoing debate on Bacon and his importance to both the early modern and the modern world, the success of this collection mirrors the success of Bacon’s own project, as while it never quite achieves the unity of critical discourse it plainly desires, it is none the worse for that. PETE LANGMAN Queen Mary, University of London