The Incomparable Monsignor

Reviews / Votes

Heilbron (vice chancellor emer., Univ. of California, Berkeley) has written the only book length treatment in English of one of the Italian proto-Enlightenment's major figures, Francesco Bianchini (1662-1729)...certainly belongs in graduate history collections, especially at universities with strong programs in the history of science. * Choice * Heilbron writes with authority and - what is more unusual - genuine passion * Alexander Lee, The Critic * The Incomparable Monsignor is an informative, entertaining biography of an extraordinary man, today only known in scholarly circles, which also throws some fresh light on European diplomacy, war, science, and scholarship, on the cusp of the eighteenth century. * A.A. Nofi, Strategy Page * Engaging and highly-readable, this is a lively history of not only an extraordinary individual but also a slice of the science, art, and courtly intrigue of the earth 18th century. * Richard Lofthouse, Quad * ... fascinating biography... Bianchini is a delight to spend time with, and Heilbron... is an erudite and witty guide to the monsignor's world and his work. * Erin Maglaque, New York Review of Books * Heilbron's biography is very well researched, excellently crafted, and superbly written. * J. P. Byrne, CHOICE Reviews * This important biography of Francesco Bianchini reveals the significant relations which the Italian historian, antiquarian and astronomer developed with the exiled Stuart King James III during the crucial period following the death of Queen Anne. It should be essential reading for anyone interested in the Stuart court in exile or the Jacobite movement. * Edward Corp, formerly Professor of British History, University of Toulouse * The Incomparable Monsignor opens a vista on a world of politics, science, antiquities and the church that has never before been so strikingly revealed. Heilbron's Bianchini crossed between Newtonianism, ancient chronology, and astronomy -- all while masterfully operating within the close precincts of the Vatican in a time when a misstep could have fateful consequences. A consummate account, beautifully written, of a virtuoso scholar in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. * Jed Buchwald, Dreyfuss Professor of History, Caltech * The book is reminiscent of Heilbron's much-appreciated biography of Galileo Galilei,...interested readers will certainly find something to their liking in Heibron's rich biography. * Annali D'Italianistica 41 * This captures well the agenda afoot in The Incomparable Monsignor, which is indeed a scrupulous and affectionate historical resurrection of the singular circa 1700 life and career of Francesco Bianchini, narrated throughout as John Heilbron chooses to remember it. Heilbron's joyously written and frolicsome tale, so full of careful research, wide learning, and a never-failing urge to spark pleasure in the reader, captured both my intellectual interest and my literary sensibilities while leaving me entertained and instructed. As Heilbron's most personal work of history, this final book, if that's what it is, stands as a worthy testament of a humane and principled scholar who did so much to enrich the academic fields he labored within foralmost seventy years. * J. B. Shank, Journal of Modern History *