Inside the Stargazer's Palace

The Transformation of Science in 16th Century Europe

Violet Moller

Enter the mysterious world of sixteenth-century science, where astronomers and alchemists shared laboratories.

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus declared the earth revolved around the Sun, overturning centuries of scholastic presumption. A new age was coming into view – one guided by observation, technology and logic.

But omens and elixirs did not disappear from the sixteenth-century laboratory. Charms and potions could still be found nestled between glistening brass instruments and leather-bound tomes. The line between the natural and supernatural remained porous, yet to be defined.

From the icy Danish observatory of Tycho Brahe, to the smoky, sulphur-stained workshop of John Dee, Violet Moller tours the intellectual heart of early European science. Exploring its rich, multidisciplinary culture, Inside the Stargazer’s Palace reveals a dazzling forgotten world, where all knowledge, no matter how arcane, could be pursued in good faith.

Violet Moller is a critically acclaimed and award-winning historian, who has written four previous books, including The Map of Knowledge. She presents the "Travels Through Time" podcast, one of the Guardian’s five best podcasts for the curious-minded and lives in Oxford.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Violet Moller

"An endlessly fascinating book, rich in detail, capacious and humane in vision.” Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

“A lovely debut from a gifted young author. Violet Moller brings to life the ways in which knowledge reached us from antiquity to the present day in a book that is as delightful as it is readable.” Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

“Through Moller’s imagination, the reader is invited to marvel at how multicultural the ancient world was, and to consider how the foundational knowledge of the Western world did not simply leap from the ancient Greeks to modern times but was painstakingly preserved, analyzed and innovated upon for almost 1,000 years.” Rachel Newcomb, Washington Post

“An epic treasure hunt into the highways and byways of stored knowledge across faiths and continents.” John Agard, poet and judge, Royal Society of Literature 2016 Jerwood Award

“A sumptuous, glittering, endlessly fascinating book, written with passion, verve, and humor.” Catherine Nixey, author of The Darkening Age