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Peter Marshall's excellent biography portrays the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612) as a pivotal figure in the transition from the medieval worldview to our modern scientific outlook... Marshall succeeds brilliantly in capturing both the spirit of the age in which Rudolf lived and the complex character of the man he describes as "one of the last magi". P.D. Smith, The Guardian
In this sparkling history, Peter Marshall assembles a cast of characters from the medieval world, their wit and wisdom an arresting case for the significance of their time...[a] generous and attentive recollection of voices too often silenced.
Rowland Mawthorpe, Observer
Marshall's account of this weird but free-thinking court, where modern science melded with the occult, glitters with interest on every page.
Christopher Hirst, The Independent
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