Download or read book Hostage to Fortune written by Lisa Jardine and published by Hill & Wang. This book was released on 2000-10-01 with total page 637 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The statesman, scientist, and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) lived a divided life. Was he a noble scholar, or a conniving political crook? Was he a homosexual? Lisa Jardine and Alan Stewart draw upon previously untapped sources to create a controversial nuanced portrait of the quintessential "Renaissance man", one whose achievements, while enormous, were nonetheless sadly circumscribed by his class and station.