I write about culture, science, mathematics, and scientific history. In science, I’m especially fascinated by the elegance and power of mathematical physics, and by the physicists and mathematicians that offer a human face to the scientific process. So in my science writing, my goal is to offer readers accessible but profound conceptual insights through compelling stories of scientific discovery. I also write about culture more broadly – scientific, literary, and social.

Reviews

In 1585, Harriot himself joined an expedition to establish an English outpost on Roanoke Island, off present-day North Carolina. Ms. Arianrhod’s vivid account applies a modern moral lens to the rapacious actions of his fellow proto-colonists… Throughout the latter half of the book, the Damoclean threat looming over Harriot is palpable, as the nodes of power shift around him.

Robyn Arianrhod […] adds the latest cornerstone to the edifice of Harriot’s resurrected reputation. Hers is an authoritative, often engrossing marriage of history and science … By studying his life and career, Harriot helps us understand how modern mathematics and science began to emerge. Arianrhod’s is a significant achievement.

The story of Thomas Harriot’s life and works, were it not so well documented by such a respected scholar as Dr. Arianrhod, could easily be thought a work of pure fiction – and extravagant, scarcely believable fiction at that. Yet it is all true. That Dr. Arianrhod has devoted the time and effort in bringing [Harriot] back to us through this absolutely captivating biography is something for which we should all be deeply grateful, and in similar gratitude, we owe it to the memory, indeed, the unrelentingly curious and inquiring spirit, of Thomas Harriot himself, to read it. 

[… Robyn] Arianrhod’s book is well constructed and written, which results in a well-paced read, an entertaining combination of biography, history, and popular science suitable for academics and, indeed, for anyone interested in these areas. The book is packed with fascinating historical detail, and the importance of the context in which [Harriot’s] scientific contributions were formulated and the life that he led is very much to the fore. […] Arianrhod challenges the neglect of Harriot, and forces us to consider him and his contributions more carefully. I will certainly increase Harriot’s visibility in my teaching, and I will recommend this book to my students.

Robyn Arianrhod restores Harriot to his rightful place alongside Galileo and Kepler in the pantheon of pioneering early modern scientists and shows how, as one friend put it, he was ‘robbed of glory.’ Thomas Harriot: A Life in Science is a wonderful combination of biography, history, and popular science that pulses with the spirit of its time.

With beautiful prose, astute historical understanding, and impeccable mastery of a near-inexhaustible array of fields, Robyn Arianrhod resurrects the life and works of this enigmatic Renaissance man. The world of an Elizabethan sage who was an intimate of the greatest soliders, scholars, and poets of the age springs to life in Arianrhod’s pulsating narrative.
At long last a first-rate biography of Thomas Harriot. Though unknown to many, Harriot’s scientific work casts a long shadow, and for ‘Harrioteers,’ as his fans are known, Robyn Arianrhod’s beautifully written and deeply researched book is the one we’ve been waiting for. A triumph and a must read!

Now the lay reader has a chance to become acquainted with Harriot thanks to the elegant, vivid prose of mathematician and physicist, Robyn Arianrhod. […] Maths lovers will rejoice in Arianrhod’s scholarly explication of Harriot’s achievements. But those who are not maths geeks will still find this book an intellectual feast [… for] Arianrhod’s book reveals the full intellectual tapestry of the times.

In a largely harmonious meld of biography and science writing, Arianrhod furthers the drive to resurrect the reputation of English mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560-1621)…. A significant achievement that builds on previous works and takes the next step in establishing Harriot’s genius.

I learned much from the many enjoyable hours I spent reading this captivating book. In embarking on this well-crafted literary work you will soon develop a confident sense that either Harriot is with you in the room, or you are with him on the high seas on Sir Walter Raleigh’s Tiger. The elegant writing gracefully guides us past mathematical and scientific hurdles in a joyful time-traveling page-turner that never slows down.

Arianrhod’s seamless blend of storytelling and science puts Harriot into full historical context. Though he inhabited a world of court intrigues, plague, and political upheavals, Harriot’s unflagging intellectual curiosity set him apart then, and makes him more than worthy of respect now, as this fascinating biography amply proves.

Thomas Harriot is one of the most unique personalities in the history of science. [… Robyn] Arianrhod knows the primary sources very well and skillfully manages to make the complex themes developed by Harriot—from astronomy to algebra—accessible. The book, conceived for a wide-ranging public, does not fail in scientific rigor. It rests on a strong foundation of primary and secondary literature, listed in a rich, up-to-date bibliography, that makes an excellent introduction to Harriot’s corpus. Visual aides also heighten the book’s accessibility… accompanied by an analytical index that lists personal names, topics, and themes, including current historiographic debates like Harriot’s comparison with Galileo, Descartes, and Kepler.