The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
About this book
Richard Holmes presents an entertaining study of the extraordinary figures that changed the face of science.This edition features many illuminating newly researched images: diagrams of galvanism show the effects of electricity on a severed ox’s head, and ‘Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion’ poignantly illustrates the bravery of the lone traveller. In her introduction, the acclaimed writer Jenny Uglow shares her enthusiasm for a book that encourages us to ‘make our own imaginative flights’.The Age of Wonder reveals the fascinating cast of the era: William Herschel, whose explorations of the stars led to the discovery of Uranus, and the chemist Humphry Davy, who frequently endangered his own life in his experiments. Their devotion to discovery inspired a generation of romantic poets, including Coleridge, who would attend Davy’s lectures and write essays on his work. As well as these key figures, Holmes demonstrates the breadth of scientific and artistic endeavour: from the ballooning craze that consumed Europe in 1783, to Mary Shelly’s nightmarish Frankenstein, he sweeps the reader along in an infectious race for greater understanding.
