He was a "perambulator," and, in the words of one of his critics, "picked up information on the highway, and scattered it everywhere as authentic." His most valuable contribution to history is found in his _Letters Written by Eminent Persons in the 17th and 18th Centuries, with Lives of Eminent Men_.

The searcher for authentic material must carefully scrutinize Aubrey's _facts_; but, with much that is doubtful, valuable information may be obtained from his pages..