conversations.from: human
conversations.value: What could be a title for a book about Vinci, Code, Holy with the genre: Literature & Fiction, History & Criticism?
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: A title for this book could be 'The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code'
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: the first five paragraphs for this book
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code
  Christopher Wren, the architect who rebuilt London after the Great Fire of 1666, was born on October 20, 1632, to a family of Anglican religious leaders. His uncle, Matthew, was bishop of Ely. His father, also named Christopher, was dean of Windsor and keeper of the regalia for the Order of the Garter. The young Christopher was brought up amid the court of Charles I, in a position of wealth and privilege.
  This ended in the 1640s when King Charles was overthrown by the Puritan parliament led by Oliver Cromwell. The Wren family remained strong royalists and suffered accordingly after Charles was captured and beheaded on January 30, 1649.
  The abrupt change in his life affected Wren seriously, of course. His uncle was imprisoned in the tower. The family lost their home and most of their possessions to the Civil War. They spent the years of the war and Protestant rule in disgrace and constant uncertainty as to their safety.
  However, in terms of his education, Christopher may well have done better than he would have had his life proceeded as planned. His early years had been spent at Westminster School in London, where his fellow pupils included the future philosopher John Locke and poet John Dryden. The school was firmly Royalist and Christopher was certainly being trained toward the goal of succeeding his father or uncle in the church. That possibility ended with the death of the king.
  During the early days of the war, Charles had his headquarters in the Royalist town of Oxford. Dean Wren and his family were with him there, and Christopher was able to meet and learn from many of the scholars who had been expelled from teaching at London and Cambridge. He was introduced to the newest scientific theories and experimental methods and showed a talent for math and mechanics. He made a drawing of a louse as seen under a microscope. He also designed a clock that would record fluctuations in wind speed and temperature throughout the night. Much of his time was spent with the older men who became his teachers. He also made one lifelong friend, Robert Hooke, who had lost his father to the Royalist cause.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: four more paragraphs. Start with the sentence 'The abrupt change in his life affected Wren seriously, of course'.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The abrupt change in his life affected Wren seriously, of course. His uncle was imprisoned in the tower. The family lost their home and most of their possessions to the Civil War. They spent the years of the war and Protestant rule in disgrace and constant uncertainty as to their safety.
  However, in terms of his education, Christopher may well have done better than he would have had his life proceeded as planned. His early years had been spent at Westminster School in London, where his fellow pupils included the future philosopher John Locke and poet John Dryden. The school was firmly Royalist and Christopher was certainly being trained toward the goal of succeeding his father or uncle in the church. That possibility ended with the death of the king.
  During the early days of the war, Charles had his headquarters in the Royalist town of Oxford. Dean Wren and his family were with him there, and Christopher was able to meet and learn from many of the scholars who had been expelled from teaching at London and Cambridge. He was introduced to the newest scientific theories and experimental methods and showed a talent for math and mechanics. He made a drawing of a louse as seen under a microscope. He also designed a clock that would record fluctuations in wind speed and temperature throughout the night. Much of his time was spent with the older men who became his teachers. He also made one lifelong friend, Robert Hooke, who had lost his father to the Royalist cause.
  Passed over for a university chair during Cromwells rule, Wren was rewarded for his loyalty when Charles II was recalled from exile in 1660. The city of London was in disrepair, and he submitted plans for the restoration of Saint Pauls Cathedral, where the Puritan troops had stabled their horses. The building was already very old. Under the reign of Charles I, the architect Inigo Jones had modernized it, but the walls were curving and the steeple had been struck by lightning in 1561 and never repaired.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: the last five paragraphs
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Along with his friend Robert Hooke, Wren had a hand in the rebuilding of many of the parish churches of London, but Saint Pauls remains his masterpiece. It has become a symbol of the city, and during the Blitz of World War II volunteers came night after night, risking their lives to protect it. Wren is buried in Saint Pauls.
  Christopher Wren was an early member and later president of the Royal Society, a group of scientists and intellectuals who had started in Cromwells time as the Invisible College, a secret society of Royalists at Oxford. Other members were Robert Boyle and **Isaac Newton**. Wren was also one of the first of the speculative **Freemasons**. He was admitted in 1691, partially to honor him for his work in rebuilding the city.
  He became Royal Surveyor in 1669 and held the post for forty-five years. He remained active until his death, at the age of ninety-one, on February 25, 1723.
  Wren was part of an international group of intellectuals of the seventeenth century who had no limits to their curiosity. Like Newton and Boyle, Christopher Wren had a wide range of interests. He did experiments in physics, astronomy and anatomy, as well as inventing practical machines such as one for planting grain. Unlike other members of the Royal Society, he does not seem to have been involved with alchemy or some of the more mystical philosophies.
  Saint Pauls stands today, as do many other buildings that Wren designed. However, when he put in his proposal for rebuilding London, he had included a plan for streets with round intersections and wide avenues. This was not adopted in London, but one hundred thirty years later, his vision for a city was employed as Pierre LEnfant and Thomas Jefferson drew up the plans for the new capital of a new country: Washington, D.C.