Critical Consensus for 7/23: Richard Holmes’ The Age of Wonder
The Age of Wonder
In The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, Richard Holmes proves that science and the arts walked hand in hand from 1770 - 1830, when the curiosity of the Romantic age led to one scientific breakthrough after another. The book follows the lives of scientists and explorers with Sir Humphry Davy and William Herschel as the main characters. Though Davy was a chemist and Herschel an astronomer, the men socialized with literary greats like Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth, and Davy wrote poems in his lab notebooks. Holmes’ follows these men as they strive to discover and invent, exploring the ways that science can both intrigue and terrify us. Critics are praising the work as a factually rich history that reads like a novel. Whether you’re a scientist, poet, or both, The Age of Wonder will captivate you. See below for full reviews.
“There is no dry page in this visceral, spirited and sexy account. [...] In an age of wonder, science walks hand-in-hand with spectacle and sensation.” - David Rooney, The Times
“The twin energies of scientific curiosity and poetic invention pulsate on every page.” - Christopher Benfey, New York Times
“The author describes his text as ‘a relay race of scientific stories’ that ‘tries to capture something of the inner life of science, its impact on the heart as well as on the mind.’ In this the book succeeds with verve.” - Dava Sobel, Barnes & Noble
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