James Delbourgo

A Noble Madness offers a magisterial rethinking of why we collect. "I loved this book," says Edmund de Waal. "Magnificent... so compulsive and entertaining," notes Stephen Fry. "Give it to the collector in your life, and watch sparks fly!" advises Cathy Gere. "A delight to read and ponder," remarks Jackson Lears. "A tour de force of scholarship and storytelling," states...

A fascinating, vivid biography of the founder of the British Museum and an exploration of the itch to accumulate. Hans Sloane was the greatest collector of his time, and one of the greatest of all time. His name is familiar today through the London streets and squares named after him, but the man himself, and his achievements, are almost forgotten....