The Lunar Men:The Friends who made the Future [Hardcover]

The Lunar Society of Birmingham was formed in the 1760s, and included (among others) Matthew Boulton and his partner James Watt (of steam engine fame), the potter Josiah Wedgwood, Erasmus Darwin, theorist of evolution and ancestor of Charles Darwin. Later came Joseph Priestley, discoverer of oxygen. They formed the Lunar Society (so-called because it met at each full moon) to talk, swap discoveries and plan their great idea. Jenny Uglow, described by Michael Holroyd as one of the most talented of contemporary biographers, has written a fascinating and vivid account of these famous men and their friendships, love of knowledge and power. It is a splendid look at 'The Friends who Made the Future' between 1730 and 1810, and deserves to be very successful.

An astonishing feat of research, inquiry and fact-collecting. It is also a superbly original idea ... a considerable historical achievement.

Their story has been told several times before, but it is Uglow's achievement to give these men ... the charming and energetic treatment they deserve.

Her knowledge is phenomenal, her human insight a constant delight ... Beautifully illustrated with many plates and diagrams ...It will repay patient study.

This is an exhilarating book, then, filled with wonders. Jenny Uglow is the most perfect historian imaginable, alive to detail and alert to general patterns.

‘An irresistible book, rich as a Christmas pudding in its detail.’ --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Jenny Uglow manages the near impossible by writing with an ingenuity which the Lunar Men themselves would have admired.

Jenny Uglow packs every page of her wonderful book with riveting information.

Jenny Uglow’s sumptuous new book.

In the 1760s a group of amateur experimenters met and made friends in the Midlands. Most came from humble families, all lived far from the centre of things, but they were young and their optimism was boundless: together they would change the world. Among them were the ambitious toy-maker Matthew Boulton and his partner James Watt, of steam-engine fame; the potter Josiah Wedgwood; the larger-than-life Erasmus Darwin, physician, poet, inventor and theorist of evolution (a forerunner of his grandson Charles). Later came Joseph Priestley, discoverer of oxygen and fighting radical.

With a small band of allies they formed the Lunar Society of Birmingham (so called because it met at each full moon) and kick-started the Industrial Revolution. Blending science, art, and commerce, the Lunar Men built canals, launched balloons, named plants, gases and minerals, changed the face of England and the china in its drawing rooms, and plotted to revolutionise its soul.

Uglow's vivid, exhilarating account uncovers the friendships, political passions, love affairs, and love of knowledge (and power) that drove these extraordinary men. It echoes to the thud of pistons and the wheeze and snort of engines, and brings to life the tradesmen, artisans, and tycoons who shaped and fired the modern age.

Jenny Uglow grew up in Cumbria and now works in publishing. Her books include prize-winning biographies of Elizabeth Gaskell and William Hogarth. The Lunar Men, published in 2002, was described by Richard Holmes as 'an extraordinarily gripping account', while her most recent biography, Nature's Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick, won the National Arts Writers Award for 2007. She lives in Canterbury. Jenny Uglow grew up in Cumbria and now works in publishing. Her books include prize-winning biographies of Elizabeth Gaskell and William Hogarth. The Lunar Men, published in 2002, was described by Richard Holmes as 'an extraordinarily gripping account', while Nature's Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick, won the National Arts Writers Award for 2007. A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration was shortlisted for the 2010 Samuel Johnson Prize. She lives in Canterbury.

The earth turns and the curving shadow sweeps round the globe. The sun sets, the moon rises, and all that is familiar feels suddenly strange. In an age before street lights, link-boys carry torches to see city-dwellers home, while in the countryside starlight and moonlight are the only guides. The footpads are out, a darker blackness against shadow, so for safety's sake men walk together when they roll back from the coffee-house, the tavern and the club. And in the eighteenth century clubs are everywhere: clubs for singing, clubs for drinking, clubs for farting; clubs of poets and pudding-makers and politicians. One such gathering of like-minded men is the Lunar Society of Birmingham. They are a small, informal bunch who simply try to meet at each other's houses on the Monday nearest the full moon, to have light to ride home (hence the name) and like other clubs they drink and laugh and argue into the night. But the Lunar men are different - together they nudge their whole society and culture over the threshold of the modern, tilting it irrevocably away from old patterns of life towards the world we know today. That is why I wanted to write about them.