In the field of literary and cultural studies, interest in nineteenth-century biology has been substantial for the last 20 years, yet the focus has been almost exclusively on evolutionary theory, neglecting other branches of nineteenth-century biology. This collection corrects that imbalance, shedding light on other discoveries in cell biology, physiology, neurology and virology. It examines the issue of authority in science, demonstrating the social 'embeddedness' of the natural sciences, and gender issues. It also shows how scientists and creative writers drew on a common imagination as...

In the field of literary and cultural studies, interest in nineteenth-century biology has been substantial for the last 20 years, yet the focus has been almost exclusively on evolutionary theory, neglecting other branches of nineteenth-century biology. This collection corrects that imbalance, shedding light on other discoveries in cell biology, physiology, neurology and virology. It examines the issue of authority in science, demonstrating the social 'embeddedness' of the natural sciences, and gender issues. It also shows how scientists and creative writers drew on a common imagination as...

This book develops new interdisciplinary perspectives on constructions of old age in literary, legal, scientific, and popular cultures of the nineteenth century. The volume reveals how nineteenth-century debates about old age propelled the formation of a range of new medical, scientific, and juridical disciplines. It sheds light on the ways in which literature participated in these processes and looks at a broad range of texts by canonical authors, such as Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, and Henry James, and by authors who have recently attracted growing...