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Life after Gravity: Isaac Newton's London Career
The story of Isaac Newton's decades in London - as ambitious cosmopolitan gentleman, President of London's Royal Society, Master of the Mint, and investor in the slave trade.
Isaac Newton is celebrated throughout the world as a great scientific genius who conceived the theory of gravity. But in his early fifties, he abandoned his life as a reclusive university scholar to spend three decades in London, a long period of metropolitan activity that is often overlooked. Enmeshed in Enlightenment politics and social affairs, Newton participated in the linked spheres of early science and imperialist capitalism. Instead of the quiet cloisters and dark libraries of Cambridge's all-male world, he now moved in fashionable London society, which was characterized by patronage relationships, sexual intrigues and ruthless ambition.
Knighted by Queen Anne, and a close ally of influential Whig politicians, Newton occupied a powerful position as President of London's Royal Society. He also became Master of the Mint, responsible for the nation's money at a time of financial crisis, and himself making and losing small fortunes on the stock market. A major investor in the East India Company, Newton benefited from the global trading networks that relied on selling African captives to wealthy plantation owners in the Americas, and was responsible for monitoring the import of African gold to be melted down for English guineas.
Patricia Fara reveals Newton's life as a cosmopolitan gentleman by focussing on a Hogarth painting of an elite Hanoverian drawing room. Gazing down from the mantelpiece, a bust of Newton looms over an aristocratic audience watching their children perform a play about European colonialism and the search for gold. Packed with Newtonian imagery, this conversation piece depicts the privileged, exploitative life in which this eminent Enlightenment figure engaged, an uncomfortable side of Newton's life with which we are much less familiar.
Isaac Newton is celebrated throughout the world as a great scientific genius who conceived the theory of gravity. But in his early fifties, he abandoned his life as a reclusive university scholar to spend three decades in London, a long period of metropolitan activity that is often overlooked. Enmeshed in Enlightenment politics and social affairs, Newton participated in the linked spheres of early science and imperialist capitalism. Instead of the quiet cloisters and dark libraries of Cambridge's all-male world, he now moved in fashionable London society, which was characterized by patronage relationships, sexual intrigues and ruthless ambition.
Knighted by Queen Anne, and a close ally of influential Whig politicians, Newton occupied a powerful position as President of London's Royal Society. He also became Master of the Mint, responsible for the nation's money at a time of financial crisis, and himself making and losing small fortunes on the stock market. A major investor in the East India Company, Newton benefited from the global trading networks that relied on selling African captives to wealthy plantation owners in the Americas, and was responsible for monitoring the import of African gold to be melted down for English guineas.
Patricia Fara reveals Newton's life as a cosmopolitan gentleman by focussing on a Hogarth painting of an elite Hanoverian drawing room. Gazing down from the mantelpiece, a bust of Newton looms over an aristocratic audience watching their children perform a play about European colonialism and the search for gold. Packed with Newtonian imagery, this conversation piece depicts the privileged, exploitative life in which this eminent Enlightenment figure engaged, an uncomfortable side of Newton's life with which we are much less familiar.
- GenresNonfictionHistoryScience
288 pages, Hardcover
Published May 3, 2021
4 people are currently reading
2500 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Fara
24 books74 followersPatricia Fara is a historian of science at the University of Cambridge. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford and did her PhD at the University of London. She is a former Fellow of Darwin College and is currently a Fellow of Clare College where she is Senior Tutor and Tutor for graduate students. Fara is also a research associate and lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. Fara is author of numerous popular books on the history of science and has been a guest on BBC Radio 4's science and history discussion series, In Our Time. She began her academic career as a physicist but returned to graduate studies as a mature student to specialise in History and Philosophy of Science, completing her PhD thesis at Imperial College, London in 1993.
Her areas of particular academic interest include the role of portraiture and art in the history of science, science in the 18th century England during the Enlightenment and the role of women in science. She has written and co-authored a number of books for children on science. Fara is also a reviewer of books on history of science.
Her areas of particular academic interest include the role of portraiture and art in the history of science, science in the 18th century England during the Enlightenment and the role of women in science. She has written and co-authored a number of books for children on science. Fara is also a reviewer of books on history of science.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 25, 2021
Patricia Fara has a way of making history of science different by looking at what may be a familiar topic from an unexpected angle. In this partial biography of Isaac Newton, dealing with his time in London, she takes this approach with mixed success.
The best thing is that we see more of this time in Newton's life, which tends to be dealt with relatively quickly in standard scientific biographies, as his focus was primarily dealing with the Royal Mint and the Royal Society. That the word 'royal' appears twice here is no coincidence, as we see a picture of a new Newton emerging, getting away from his near-monastic scientific life at Cambridge to become a more social creature, with a distinct interest in keeping in with high society, including the royal family. Perhaps the most interesting thing for me was the way that Fara brings in a topic that I've rarely seen mentioned in Newton biographies - slavery. Newton might not have been actively involved, but the slave trade was pervasively connected to the wealth of the nation and it misses a significant aspect of what shaped his life and wealth (just as does the discussion of Newton's politics).
Unfortunately, for me, the whole didn't work brilliantly. The text felt quite fragmented and rambling, in part because of Fara's framing approach, which is to use a Hogarth painting of children putting on a play in John Conduitt's drawing room as a way of exploring different aspects of Newton's life, even though the painting dates from after Newton's death. The relevance of the painting is partly that a bust of Newton features in it, partly that Conduitt married Newton's niece, who had lived in Newton's London household, and also that Conduitt took on Newton's role as Master of the Mint. (There are also royalty and aristocracy in the painting, reflecting the social climbing.)
It's true that the painting does reflect some links to aspects of Newton's London life - but still the use of it feels forced, not helped by the atrocious quality of the black and white on-page reproduction of the painting in the book. Such images have improved in quality over the years, but this was so murky you could hardly make out that there were people in it. It wasn't until I got half way through the book and realised that all the on-page images were duplicated in a colour plates section that I could see the painting and even there it was too small (it would have been far better to just have had the plates).
Although it's important to describe those around Newton to give his life context, there seemed too much on other people, either because they're in the painting or were influential in his life - I wanted more Newton. It's also the case that Fara's politics came through quite heavy-handedly, for example in the strange comment that in a largely ungendered English language it's notable that countries are feminine - I've never heard anyone refer to a country as 'she'. Similarly, while the exploration of the relevance of the slave trade to the life of the well-off of the period was one of the best parts of the book, Fara mostly made it seem as if this was all about Europeans capturing Africans to make them slaves, rather than purchasing those who had been enslaved by other Africans: this wasn't a one-sided trade.
Overall, then, there are good elements here, and I welcome attempts to look at creative ways to frame scientific history - but all creativity involves a risk of failure, and for me this one didn't quite come off.
The best thing is that we see more of this time in Newton's life, which tends to be dealt with relatively quickly in standard scientific biographies, as his focus was primarily dealing with the Royal Mint and the Royal Society. That the word 'royal' appears twice here is no coincidence, as we see a picture of a new Newton emerging, getting away from his near-monastic scientific life at Cambridge to become a more social creature, with a distinct interest in keeping in with high society, including the royal family. Perhaps the most interesting thing for me was the way that Fara brings in a topic that I've rarely seen mentioned in Newton biographies - slavery. Newton might not have been actively involved, but the slave trade was pervasively connected to the wealth of the nation and it misses a significant aspect of what shaped his life and wealth (just as does the discussion of Newton's politics).
Unfortunately, for me, the whole didn't work brilliantly. The text felt quite fragmented and rambling, in part because of Fara's framing approach, which is to use a Hogarth painting of children putting on a play in John Conduitt's drawing room as a way of exploring different aspects of Newton's life, even though the painting dates from after Newton's death. The relevance of the painting is partly that a bust of Newton features in it, partly that Conduitt married Newton's niece, who had lived in Newton's London household, and also that Conduitt took on Newton's role as Master of the Mint. (There are also royalty and aristocracy in the painting, reflecting the social climbing.)
It's true that the painting does reflect some links to aspects of Newton's London life - but still the use of it feels forced, not helped by the atrocious quality of the black and white on-page reproduction of the painting in the book. Such images have improved in quality over the years, but this was so murky you could hardly make out that there were people in it. It wasn't until I got half way through the book and realised that all the on-page images were duplicated in a colour plates section that I could see the painting and even there it was too small (it would have been far better to just have had the plates).
Although it's important to describe those around Newton to give his life context, there seemed too much on other people, either because they're in the painting or were influential in his life - I wanted more Newton. It's also the case that Fara's politics came through quite heavy-handedly, for example in the strange comment that in a largely ungendered English language it's notable that countries are feminine - I've never heard anyone refer to a country as 'she'. Similarly, while the exploration of the relevance of the slave trade to the life of the well-off of the period was one of the best parts of the book, Fara mostly made it seem as if this was all about Europeans capturing Africans to make them slaves, rather than purchasing those who had been enslaved by other Africans: this wasn't a one-sided trade.
Overall, then, there are good elements here, and I welcome attempts to look at creative ways to frame scientific history - but all creativity involves a risk of failure, and for me this one didn't quite come off.
February 6, 2024
I have no one to blame but myself! I vow never again to rush to buy a book at the bookstore based merely on the fact that it is about a famous person (in this case Newton), and an aspect of his life (as head of the Royal Mint, in London) that I am unfamiliar with.
While the subject matter and outlook was promising, it turned out that the contents of this history was organized after the fashion of Newton’s famous notes, i.e., neither in logical nor chronological order, but, rather, strung together as if on a whim. Or, at least, that is how one feels when reading it. It is actually based on a painting, and deals with each person pictured in the painting separately, but chronology is out the window. Newton barely appears in these pages, except, for example, when he is involved in religious controversy at Cambridge, or when he is suspected of some secret relationship or bad investment.
The writing sometimes feels hectoring and sometimes a bit abrupt—
the author likes to twist the knife on ethical breaches (e.g., for the most part slavery, over and over again, but also avarice and (lack of) equal rights). It is also filled with asides, references to passing characters, and other deviations that on balance are more distracting than interesting.
To top it off, this history is filled with gaps and conjecture, because there is apparently so little reliable source matter to build a story from (at least according to this author).
On the positive side of the leger, if you can stomach the chronic deviations and blind allies of the writing, there are many brief scenes and anecdotes of the lives of some of the members of Newton’s extended family and defenders in London during the reigns of Queen Anne/George I, and some new (at least for me) information about the Huguenots, the Free Masons, the South Sea Bubble, and religious heresies.
While the subject matter and outlook was promising, it turned out that the contents of this history was organized after the fashion of Newton’s famous notes, i.e., neither in logical nor chronological order, but, rather, strung together as if on a whim. Or, at least, that is how one feels when reading it. It is actually based on a painting, and deals with each person pictured in the painting separately, but chronology is out the window. Newton barely appears in these pages, except, for example, when he is involved in religious controversy at Cambridge, or when he is suspected of some secret relationship or bad investment.
The writing sometimes feels hectoring and sometimes a bit abrupt—
the author likes to twist the knife on ethical breaches (e.g., for the most part slavery, over and over again, but also avarice and (lack of) equal rights). It is also filled with asides, references to passing characters, and other deviations that on balance are more distracting than interesting.
To top it off, this history is filled with gaps and conjecture, because there is apparently so little reliable source matter to build a story from (at least according to this author).
On the positive side of the leger, if you can stomach the chronic deviations and blind allies of the writing, there are many brief scenes and anecdotes of the lives of some of the members of Newton’s extended family and defenders in London during the reigns of Queen Anne/George I, and some new (at least for me) information about the Huguenots, the Free Masons, the South Sea Bubble, and religious heresies.
February 20, 2022
The bio is framed by the content analysis of a painting by Hogarth of a rich Hanoverian family enacting a play about the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The scene is filled with direct and indirect references to Newton, gold, social hierarchy, mercantilism, and slavery.
Covering Newton's many years in London, Fara details aspects of Newton's life that are routinely skipped over by high school histories of science. The actual pursuit of science was a financially and intellectually precarious process at the time. Newton continually sought to increase his income with as much glee as his scientific interests. He was a significant investor in the slave trade, and, despite being in charge of the Mint, engaged in a variety of shaky financial speculations that cost him dearly.
Other interesting bits include: his lampooning by Jonathan Swift; that he engaged in linguistic complaints that Lewis Carroll would later take up (wishing that words would signify what they claimed to represent and no more); Queen Caroline risked the lives of her children by having them inoculated against smallpox and minor speculations on his sex life. His immersion in alchemy receives scant mention, while there is some detail on his convoluted religions beliefs (that he frequently concealed, to protect his political/economic positions).
Fara closes her book with thoughts on writing and rewriting history that would be useful for current American book burners to understand. "There are always new ways of interpreting familiar facts, and there are always new facts to be unearthed."... "Moral responsibility is shared by all members of a community."... "Exploring the past can reveal how we have reached the present, but for me the main point of doing that is to improve the future."... "In writing this book I have tried to analyze some of the ways in which our predecessors wert wrong, and indicate the mistake that we must avoid repeating.
There's the rub... the Trumpist idiots don't recognize that mistakes were made.
Covering Newton's many years in London, Fara details aspects of Newton's life that are routinely skipped over by high school histories of science. The actual pursuit of science was a financially and intellectually precarious process at the time. Newton continually sought to increase his income with as much glee as his scientific interests. He was a significant investor in the slave trade, and, despite being in charge of the Mint, engaged in a variety of shaky financial speculations that cost him dearly.
Other interesting bits include: his lampooning by Jonathan Swift; that he engaged in linguistic complaints that Lewis Carroll would later take up (wishing that words would signify what they claimed to represent and no more); Queen Caroline risked the lives of her children by having them inoculated against smallpox and minor speculations on his sex life. His immersion in alchemy receives scant mention, while there is some detail on his convoluted religions beliefs (that he frequently concealed, to protect his political/economic positions).
Fara closes her book with thoughts on writing and rewriting history that would be useful for current American book burners to understand. "There are always new ways of interpreting familiar facts, and there are always new facts to be unearthed."... "Moral responsibility is shared by all members of a community."... "Exploring the past can reveal how we have reached the present, but for me the main point of doing that is to improve the future."... "In writing this book I have tried to analyze some of the ways in which our predecessors wert wrong, and indicate the mistake that we must avoid repeating.
There's the rub... the Trumpist idiots don't recognize that mistakes were made.
May 6, 2021
A very well researched book. This is one of the under hyped book that I read this year. I was genuinely surprised to discover lots of history related to Newton.
A better future requires everyone to learn mistakes of our predecessors and we must avoid repeating.
A better future requires everyone to learn mistakes of our predecessors and we must avoid repeating.
September 12, 2021
Very interesting
February 15, 2023
What an unpleasant human being was Isaac Newton! He may have been a great mind and scientist, but his meanness to others was certainly at the most extreme of negative possibilities.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews