The Naturalist in Britain: A Social History

by David Elliston Allen

Overview

At once a major resource for historians of science and an excellent introduction to natural history for the general reader, David Allen's The Naturalist in Britain established a precedent for investigating natural history as a social phenomenon. Here the author traces the evolution of natural history from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries, from the "herbalizings" of apprentice apothecaries to the establishment of national reserves and international societies to the emergence of natural history as an organized discipline. Along the way he describes the role of scientific ideas, popular fashion, religious motivations, literary influences, the increase of leisure time and disposable income, and the tendency of like-minded persons to form clubs. His comprehensive and entertaining discussion creates a vibrant portrait of a scientific movement inextricably woven into a particular culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400843442
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/13/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	29 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

David Elliston Allen is coordinator of the History of Medicine Program of The Wellcome Trust. He is also Honorary Lecturer in the History of the Life Sciences, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, and teaches at the University College, London.

Table of Contents

	List of Plates	xi
	List of Illustrations	xiii
	Preface (1994)	xv
	Preface to the First Edition	xvii
Chapter 1	Organization Begins	3
Chapter 2	The Rise to Fashion	22
Chapter 3	Wonders of the Past	45
Chapter 4	The Victorian Sctting	64
Chapter 5	The Fruits of Efficiency	83
Chapter 6	Exploring the Fringcs	108
Chapter 7	Deadlier Weapons	126
Chapter 8	The Field Club	142
Chapter 9	The Parting of the Ways	158
Chapter 10	Dispersed Efforts	175
Chapter 11	Recovery on the Coasts	186
Chapter 12	An Infusion of Mobility	202
Chapter 13	A Break for Play	220
Chapter 14	The Eventual Combining	227
	Notes on Sources	245
	Index	257

Editorial Reviews

Allen's 1976 title offers a different spin on the study of natural history by presenting it as a social phenomenon. Included are the roots of collecting herbs as medicines and the creation of national reserves to maintain the natural environment.

Library Journal

"Allen's original [book] ... is dense with picturesque detail, rich in correlation with social, artistic, and technical trends."

The Times Literary Supplement

"Allen has made a caring, pioneering attempt towards mapping this vast forest.... It is a book which is unlikely to be superseded."—-Roy Porter, Annals of Science

From the Publisher

Allen has made a caring, pioneering attempt towards mapping this vast forest.... It is a book which is unlikely to be superseded.

Annals of Science - Roy Porter

Allen has made a caring, pioneering attempt towards mapping this vast forest.... It is a book which is unlikely to be superseded.
— Roy Porter

Annals of Science