British Romanticism and the Science of the Mind

Cambridge Studies in Romanticism

by Alan Richardson, Marilyn Butler (Editor), James Chandler (Editor)

In this provocative and original study, Alan Richardson examines an entire range of intellectual, cultural, and ideological points of contact between British Romantic literary writing and the pioneering brain science of the time. Poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Keats, and novelists such as Jane Austen and Mary Shelley, are shown to have shared a surprising extent of common ground with pioneering brain scientists including Erasmus Darwin and F. J. Gall. It demonstrates the value for literary and cultural history of learning from recent work in neuroscience and cognitive science.

268 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 1997

About the author

Alan Richardson grew up in Washington State, backpacking and mountain climbing in the North Cascade and Olympic ranges from a young age. He has taught English and American literature at Boston College for over thirty years and is author or editor of a number of scholarly books. A Zen Buddhist since the age of 18, he serves as a Dharma Holder in the Boundless Way Zen community and Guiding Teacher for the Sky Flower Zen sangha.. Based in Eastern Massachusetts, he frequently hikes and backpacks in the Taconics, the Berkshires, the Green Mountains, the White Mountains, and the Mahoosucs. His most recent book is Breakfast With Salamanders: Seasons on the Appalachian Trail.


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