Science Serialized: Representations of the Sciences in Nineteenth-Century Periodicals

by Geoffrey N. Cantor (Editor)

Nineteenth-century Britain saw an explosion of periodical literature, with the
publication of over 100,000 different magazines and newspapers for a growing market of eager
readers. The Victorian periodical press became an important medium for the dissemination of
scientific ideas. Every major scientific advance in the nineteenth century was trumpeted and
analyzed in periodicals ranging from intellectual quarterlies such as the Edinburgh Review to
popular weeklies like the Mirror of Literature, from religious periodicals such as the Evangelical
Magazine to the atheistic Oracle of Reason. Scientific articles appeared side by side with the
latest fiction or political reporting, while articles on nonscientific topics and serialized novels
invoked scientific theories or used analogies drawn from science.The essays collected in Science
Serialized examine the variety of ways in which the nineteenth-century periodical press represented
science to both general and specialized readerships. They explore the role of scientific controversy
in the press and the cultural politics of publication. Subject range from the presentation of botany
in women's magazines to the highly public dispute between Darwin and Samuel Butler, and from
discussions of the mind-body problem to those of energy physics. Contributors include leading
scholars in the fields of history of science and literature: Ann B. Shteir, Jonathan Topham, Frank
A. J. L. James, Roger Smith, Graeme Gooday, Crosbie Smith, Ian Higginson, Gillian Beer, Bernard
Lightman, Helen Small, Gowan Dawson, Jonathan Smith, James G. Paradis, and Harriet Ritvo.

376 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2004