Who is Simon Foreman?

Found an interesting review of a book about Simon Foreman who was a doctor, herbalist and astrologer who practiced during the late 1500s and early 1600s in England. He used astrology extensively in his work and in his personal life which ultimately led to accusations against him in a poisoning plot and his untimely death.

Astrological history is often limited to academic treatises or the occasional Nostradamus piece. It is nice to read about a true personality whose work and life intermingled scientific and astral elements of life.

Here is what looks like a sample from the transcript of his trial where he was under suspicion in a poisoning death. He dies in 1610 while this was going on. A complicated man, Foreman was described in a range of less-than-complimentary ways. This book Medicine and Magic in Elizabethan London is another interesting overview of the man.