The Earth on Show: Fossils and the Poetics of Popular Science, 1802-1856At the turn of the nineteenth century, geology—and its claims that the earth had a long and colorful prehuman history—was widely dismissedasdangerous nonsense. But just fifty years later, it was the most celebrated of Victorian sciences. Ralph O’Connor tracks the astonishing growth of geology’s prestige in Britain, exploring how a new geohistory far more alluring than the standard six days of Creation was assembled and sold to the wider Bible-reading public. Shrewd science-writers, O’Connor shows, marketed spectacular visions of past worlds, piquing the public imagination with glimpses of man-eating mammoths, talking dinosaurs, and sea-dragons spawned by Satan himself. These authors—including men of science, women, clergymen, biblical literalists, hack writers, blackmailers, and prophets—borrowed freely from the Bible, modern poetry, and the urban entertainment industry, creating new forms of literature in order to transport their readers into a vanished and alien past. In exploring the use of poetry and spectacle in the promotion of popular science, O’Connor proves that geology’s success owed much to the literary techniques of its authors. An innovative blend of the history of science, literary criticism, book history, and visual culture, The Earth on Show rethinks the relationship between science and literature in the nineteenth century. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 87
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... chapter or of the whole text), areas under special 26 17 27 rhetorical pressure . A common result was. 81. Merrill 1989, 46–7. 82. See chapters 9 and 10. 83. W. Wordsworth 1944–72, II, 392 n. 2. On the prehistory of “facts” see Daston ...
... chapter or of the whole text), areas under special 26 17 27 rhetorical pressure . A common result was. 81. Merrill 1989, 46–7. 82. See chapters 9 and 10. 83. W. Wordsworth 1944–72, II, 392 n. 2. On the prehistory of “facts” see Daston ...
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... - and early - nineteenth - century America ) and C. Cohen 2002 ( surveying concepts of the mammoth from prehistoric cave art to the present day ) . 8. Altick 1978, 29–32. 9. Rudwick 1997, 13–24. On late-eighteenth-century. CHAPTER 1.
... - and early - nineteenth - century America ) and C. Cohen 2002 ( surveying concepts of the mammoth from prehistoric cave art to the present day ) . 8. Altick 1978, 29–32. 9. Rudwick 1997, 13–24. On late-eighteenth-century. CHAPTER 1.
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... chapter , however , we shall see how it underpinned geology's public appeal in the first two decades of the nineteenth century , whipped up in guidebooks such as Peale's His- torical Disquisition that presented fossils as sublime relics ...
... chapter , however , we shall see how it underpinned geology's public appeal in the first two decades of the nineteenth century , whipped up in guidebooks such as Peale's His- torical Disquisition that presented fossils as sublime relics ...
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... collectors discussed in Knell 2000 . 23. Ashe 1815 , II , 209. “ Incognitum ” and “ non - descript ” were technical terms denoting spe- cies not yet formally described or named . 32. This is Peale's version ( 1803 , 88 ) CHAPTER 1.
... collectors discussed in Knell 2000 . 23. Ashe 1815 , II , 209. “ Incognitum ” and “ non - descript ” were technical terms denoting spe- cies not yet formally described or named . 32. This is Peale's version ( 1803 , 88 ) CHAPTER 1.
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... I crossed the Apellactian and the Alleghany.—I descended the Ohio, the Illinois, the Wabash, the Mis- souri, and the Mississippi. I traversed the depths of the deepest vallies, and · the summits of the highest mountains [ . . chapter 1.
... I crossed the Apellactian and the Alleghany.—I descended the Ohio, the Illinois, the Wabash, the Mis- souri, and the Mississippi. I traversed the depths of the deepest vallies, and · the summits of the highest mountains [ . . chapter 1.
Contents
PART II STAGING THE SHOW | |
New Mythologies of the Ancient Earth | |
Currencies and Sizes of Books | |
Works Cited | |
Credits | |
Index | |
Other editions - View all
The Earth on Show: Fossils and the Poetics of Popular Science, 1802-1856 Ralph O'Connor No preview available - 2008 |
The Earth on Show: Fossils and the Poetics of Popular Science, 1802-1856 Ralph O'Connor No preview available - 2013 |
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