I am Grateful to the Master and Fellows of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge; the Principal and Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford; Drue Heinz and the electors to the Hawthornden Castle Fellowships for enabling me to write uninterruptedly in spring 2012; the staff in the Bodleian Library’s Special Collections; the staff in the British Library Manuscripts Reading Room; the staff in the Royal Society Library and the Ashmolean Museum.
My editor Jenny Uglow believed in and understood my book from the beginning; her companionship on this biographical journey has been a blessing and a privilege. Juliet Brooke, Senior Editor at Chatto & Windus, guided my book through publication with grace and imagination.
For generous scholarly and literary help I am also deeply indebted to the following friends and colleagues: Mary Beard, Kate Bennett, John Casey, John Dunn, Antonia Fraser, Heather Glen, Mark Goldie, Jonny Grove, Olivia Horsfall Turner, Claerwen James, John Kerrigan, Anne Malcolm, William Poole, Hamish Robinson, Ali Smith, Peter Stothard, Peter Straus, Richard Tuck. I am grateful to Jane Selley for her careful copy-editing, to Joanne Hill for her thorough proof-reading and to Helen Smith for the index.
Soon after I began writing about Aubrey, my father, John Scurr, moved to Hankerton, near Malmesbury, giving me many opportunities to explore north Wiltshire. I first came to know south Wiltshire through my friend Canon Timothy Russ, who died before my book was finished; may he rest in peace.
Aubrey was a wonderful friend. He has led me to deepen old friendships and discover new ones. My last expression of gratitude is to him.