When Mrs. Bowen was immersed in The Lion and the Throne, she became fascinated with the mercurial greatness of Francis Bacon, the formidable enemy of her subject, Sir Edward Coke. She determined to return to Bacon for further revelation. Here is, in her words, ""an invitation to a man"", an evocation, written in chapters that are essentially essays of opinion, lifting the curtain of the five acts of is life which he played out on a brilliant stage. Quickwitted (as befits the subject), highminded, dartingly penetrating, learned and with a suitably graceful turn of phrase, this is an enriching reading experience that brings to life a compelling man, a thinker of such power and force that his work is still able to touch us today.