Bugs and the Victorians

By: John F. Clark

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Hardcover | 27 April 2009 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
336 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
24.08 x 16.49 x 3.19

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In the wake of the Scientific Revolution, the impulse to name and classify the natural world accelerated, and insects presented a particularly inviting challenge. This lively book explores how science became increasingly important in nineteenth-century British culture and how the systematic study of insects permitted entomologists to engage with the most pressing questions of Victorian times: the nature of God, mind, and governance, and the origins of life. By placing insects in a myriad of contexts--politics, religion, gender, and empire--John F. McDiarmid Clark demonstrates the impact of Victorian culture on the science of insects and on the systematic knowledge of the natural world. Through engaging accounts of famous and eccentric innovators who sought to define social roles for themselves through a specialist study of insects--among them a Tory clergyman, a banker and member of Parliament, a wealthy spinster, and an entrepreneurial academic--Clark highlights the role of insects in the making of modern Britain and maintains that the legacy of Victorian entomologists continues to this day.

Industry Reviews

"This book gives a fascinating and historically grounded sense of the multiple lives of insects and their students in Victorian Britain. It is beautifully written."-Charlotte Sleigh, The British Journal for the History of Science -- Charlotte Sleigh * The British Journal for the History of Science *
"Bugs and the Victorians is essential reading for those drawn to the social and economic upheaval of early Victorian life and how that upheaval influenced the development of science and vice versa."--Arthur V. Evans, Victorian Studies -- Arthur V. Evans * Victorian Studies *

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Science Biology, Life Sciences Life Sciences in General Taxonomy & Systematics Science in General History of Science Society & Culture Cultural Studies History of Ideas History Specific Events & Topics in History

Social & Cultural History Zoology & Animal Sciences Zoology & Invertebrates Insects & Entomology

List of Figures	p. viii
Acknowledgements	p. xii
Introduction	p. 1
The Politics of Insects	p. 14
Struggle for the Minds of Insects	p. 34
Bees and Ants	p. 54
Social Insects and Secular Science	p. 80
Darwin and the Entomologists	p. 105
The Colorado Beetle	p. 132
A Female Entomologist	p. 154
Insects and Empire	p. 187
House Files	p. 216
Conclusion	p. 237
Notes	p. 245
Select Bibliography	p. 285
Index	p. 311
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Bugs and the Victorians

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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