Here's what I wrote on 2010 about this read: "Different type of read for me. The almost-reads-like-a-novel story of British scientists and poets of the Romantic Era. Great history of Banks, who visited Tahiti and lead the Royal Society of Scientists (although they weren't named that yet), William Hershel, the German refugee who discovered Urananus and his sister, Caroline, who discovered massive numbers of comets. Then there's Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein during this period. Others as well; very engaging and educational read!" ( )

The Age of Wonder started out wonderfully ! The discussions on the explorations of Tahiti & Africa, as well as the advent of Hot Air Balloon Travel and the telescopic exploration of the heavens, were fascinating ! The scientist in these chapters were all driven, dedicated, and determined to increase mankinds' knowledge on all things relating to the natural world. But half way through the book, the author started focusing on the in fighting amongst the new generation of upcoming scientist, and at this point the book really bogged down and unfortunately, I found myself just plain loosing interest ( )

There are a few figures who sit squarely at the center of the British Romantic scientific revolution: Joseph Banks, William Herschel, and Humphry Davy. While Banks was more of an adventurer and advocate than a scientist, Herschel (astronomy) and Davy (chemistry) made their mark by exploring the composition of forms perceived by our senses. Herschel designed and built telescopes that could see further in the cosmos. While he made some technical breakthroughs in scanning the night sky and documenting celestial phenomena, his telescopes were better because he put in the work of polishing larger mirrors. He also had an equally brilliant and industrious assistant, his sister Caroline, who of course did not receive her due for her contribution to the field.

While Herschel gathered observational data to better understand the formation of the universe, Davy pioneered research in chemistry - along with his peers on the continent, he made great strides in our understanding of the elemental composition of the world. These "natural philosophers" were autodidacts and interdisciplinary: they were friends with Coleridge, Southey, and Wordsworth.

The author's narrative history of this period is fascinating, and he explains how some myths surrounding scientific discovery dovetail with Romantic ideals of the mind and nature, especially as found in the poetry and fiction of the Shelleys. ( )

Richard Holmes's history of scientific discovery in the Romantic age is told through the biographies of several of its key figures, such as Joseph Banks, William Herschel and Humphrey Davy. It focuses on science (and literature) in Britain but does not neglect scientists elsewhere in Europe. One of the things that fascinated me was learning from this book that dialogue, cooperation and rivalry continued throughout the Napoleonic Wars. Another unique feature of the book is that Holmes examines the interest and scientific experiments of key literary figures like Shelley and Coleridge. Mary Shelley gets an entire chapter devoted to her novel "Frankenstein" and the scientific controversies and debates which informed the author. ( )

Bibliography: p. 485. Includes index.