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kittiwakeAn investigation into a manuscript written in cipher and full of mysterious drawings, that was rediscovered in an Italian monastery in 1911 by the book dealer whose name it now bears, but was rumoured to have been written in Middle Ages by the English monk Roger Bacon. Kennedy's interest in the subject was sparked by the discovery that he was related to Wilfrid Voynich's wife Ethel (the daughter of George Boole the mathematician who invented Boolean logic).
The book covers the history of the manuscript since its rediscovery and its putative history in earlier centuries, as well as the numerous failed attempts to decipher it and the many theories concerning its origins and purpose. After an even-handed discussion of all the theories the book ends with the authors telling us their individual conclusions about the Voynich manuscript, and I rather think that I may agree with Rob Churchill about the manuscript's origins. But you will have to read the book in order to find out what he thinks!
The book covers the history of the manuscript since its rediscovery and its putative history in earlier centuries, as well as the numerous failed attempts to decipher it and the many theories concerning its origins and purpose. After an even-handed discussion of all the theories the book ends with the authors telling us their individual conclusions about the Voynich manuscript, and I rather think that I may agree with Rob Churchill about the manuscript's origins. But you will have to read the book in order to find out what he thinks!
