Book ID: CBB001422481

Victorian Literature and the Physics of the Imponderable (2015)

unapi

Alexander, Sarah C. (Author)


Pickering & Chatto


Publication Date: 2015
Physical Details: 224 pp.
Language: English

The Victorians were obsessed with the empirical but were frequently frustrated by the sizeable gaps in their understanding of the world around them. This study examines how literature and popular culture adopted the emerging language of physics to explain the unknown or `imponderable'. Writers such as Charles Dickens, William Morris and Joseph Conrad used recent concepts such as energy, entropy and atom theory to explore key issues of capitalism, imperialism and social unrest. In doing so, they created a fresh vocabulary, helping to make sense of the new experiences of modernity.

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Reviewed By

Review Ian Hesketh (2016) Review of "Victorian Literature and the Physics of the Imponderable". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 868-869). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001422481/

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Authors & Contributors
Tondre, Michael L.
Hale, Piers J.
Buckland, Adelene
Francesco Ghelli
Penner, Louise
Bender, Michael
Concepts
Science and literature
Popular culture
Thermodynamics
Science and culture
Entropy
Energy (physics)
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
Places
Great Britain
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