The Routledge Research Companion to Nineteenth-Century British Literature and Science

Tracing the continuities and trends in the complex relationship between literature and science in the long nineteenth century, this companion provides scholars with a comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date foundation for research in this field. In intellectual, material and social terms, the transformation undergone by Western culture over the period was unprecedented. Many of these changes were grounded in the growth of science. Yet science was not a cultural monolith then any more than it is now, and its development was shaped by competing world views. To cover the full range of literary engagements with science in the nineteenth century, this companion consists of twenty-seven chapters by experts in the field, which explore crucial social and intellectual contexts for the interactions between literature and science, how science affected different genres of writing, and the importance of individual scientific disciplines and concepts within literary culture. Each chapter has its own extensive bibliography. The volume as a whole is rounded out with a synoptic introduction by the editors and an afterword by the eminent historian of nineteenth-century science Bernard Lightman. Tracing the continuities and trends in the complex relationship between literature and science in the long nineteenth century, this companion provides scholars with a comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date foundation for research in this field. In intellectual, material, and social terms, the transformation undergone by Western culture over the period was unprecedented. Many of these changes were grounded in the growth of science. Yet science was not a cultural monolith then any more than it is now, and its development was shaped by competing worldviews. To cover the full range of literary engagements with science in the long nineteenth century, the companion consists of 27 essays by experts in the field that explore crucial social and intellectual contexts for the interactions between literature and science, how science affected different genres of writing, and the importance of individual scientific disciplines and concepts within literary culture. Each chapter has its own extensive bibliography. The volume as a whole is rounded out with a synoptic introduction by the editors and an afterword by the eminent historian of nineteenth-century science Bernard Lightman. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 CONTENTS 6 List of figures 9 Notes on contributors 10 Acknowledgements 13 Introduction: literature and science in the nineteenth century 14 PART I Contexts 30 1 Science, empire and globalization in the nineteenth century 32 2 Scientific cultures and institutions 43 3 Science and religion 54 4 Women and science 66 PART II Genres 82 5 The novel as observation and experiment 84 6 From Gothic to science fiction 100 7 Poetry and science 114 8 Scientific literary criticism 128 9 Writing the scientist: biography and autobiography 141 10 Writing science: scientific prose 154 11 Science for the general reader 168 12 Science in the periodical press 185 13 Science for children 200 14 Staging science 214 PART III Mathematical and physical sciences 228 15 Mathematics 230 16 Astronomy 248 17 Geology 270 18 Chemistry 284 19 Thermodynamics 299 20 Electricity 313 21 Technology 324 PART IV Biological and human sciences 342 22 Natural history, evolution and ecology: the biological sciences 344 23 Archaeology and anthropology 370 24 Medical research 385 25 Sciences of the mind 399 26 Sexology 421 27 Occult sciences 436 Afterword 451 Index 455