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Historical The Notorious Astrological Physician of London: Works and Days of Simon Forman by Barbara Howard Traister $30.00 / Univ. of Chicago / 2001 Until now, history has not treated Simon Forman kindly. A physician without formal training, he was repeatedly fined and jailed for practicing without a license, and accused of occult dealings and having unsavory sexual escapades. A few years after his death in 1611, he was even implicated in the poisoning death of a nobleman. But Professor Traister sets the record straight by using Forman's own writings to reassess the man, thus giving readers a well-rounded biography of an interesting personality and, in the process, shedding light on life in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. For instance, ledger entries provide such minutiae as the price of nails and the fees for specific medical services. There is a contemporary map of London, drawings of alchemist's vessels, and designs for amulets. Finally, excerpts of Forman's eclectic writings, which are penned in quaint Elizabethan English, put a human face on both the man and his world. Readers with interests ranging from magic to medicine, adultery to jurisprudence, or literature to chicanery-or just the general subject of life in another time and place-will find this book both entertaining and informative. —C. Bruce Hunter

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