John Napier

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Author of A Plaine Discouverie of the Whole Revelation of St John, (1593), a book which attracts the attention of Mr Norrell during a particularly tedious soirée he attends at the house of a Mrs Godesdone. A Scotsman, Napier is perhaps best known to us for his ingenious observations on Mathematics; but in his own judgment this work interpreting the Revelation was the his magnum opus.

In his day Napier enjoyed the reputation of a "cunning man" and was broadly considered to be a magician, especially by the ignorant - but his published work does not demonstrate any depth of magical scholarship and we can be sure Mr Norrell would sniff at any such claim. [4].

More may be found upon him [|here]