Today the idea of an older, disappearing England may seem like a new phenomenon, bolstered by current political rhetoric.

But 400 years ago biographer John Aubrey began collecting and recording fragments of an England he feared was disappearing, and now author Ruth Scurr has, in turn, preserved Aubrey’s own life in her book John Aubrey: My Own Life.

In conversation with author and critic Erica Wagner, Scurr discussed her interest in Aubrey and her decision to present the biography as Aubrey’s diaries – a choice she compared to “walking past a precipice in the mist”.

With such an unusual book, hearing the author explain her process was fascinating, and Scurr was a natural and expressive speaker.

But, just like Aubrey remains just a ghostly presence in his famous biography series Brief Lives, Scurr seemed to want to keep her own literary talents hidden behind the subject of her work.

There was a slightly uncomfortable moment when Wagner recalled the critical review Scurr gave to her first book, but otherwise the evening flowed nicely.

Questions from the floor were handled well, and the queue at the bookstall to pick up copies of My Own Life was a testament to the absorbing and imaginative talk.

Four stars