Roger North was an English writer, lawyer, and polymath. In this autobiography, he wanders the intellectual, political, and cultural fields of Restoration England, mapping the state of his country and the state of his selfhood. By describing the multifarious currents affecting his life, North (1653-1734) makes lively forays into the worlds of natural philosophy, Christian stoicism, Cartesian science, architecture, music, education, and James II's treatment of the Protestant courtiers, while recounting his upbringing in an impoverished noble family, his education at Cambridge, and his...