Science and Reading in the Eighteenth Century
The Hardwicke Circle and the Royal Society, 1740-1766
Published on 22. February 2023
978-1-009-21717-0 (ISBN)
Description
Science and Reading in the Eighteenth Century studies the reading habits of a group of historians and science administrators known as the Hardwicke Circle. The research is based on an analysis of the reading recorded in the 'Weekly Letter', an unpublished private correspondence written from 1741 to 1766 between Thomas Birch (1705-1766), Secretary of the Royal Society, and Philip Yorke (1720-1790), later second earl of Hardwicke. Birch and Yorke were omnivorous, voracious, and active readers. The analysis uses the Weekly Letter to quantify the texts with which they engaged, and explores the role of reading in their intellectual life. The research argues that this evidence shows that, in the early 1750s, the Hardwicke Circle pivoted from a focus on early-modern British history to a new concern with the reform and renovation of British intellectual institutions, especially the Royal Society.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
File size
4,95 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-009-21717-0 (9781009217170)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Markman Ellis
Science and Reading in the Eighteenth Century
The Hardwicke Circle and the Royal Society, 1740-1766
Book
02/2023
Cambridge University Press
€24.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Content
Introduction: Reading History and the Royal Society; 1. The Hardwicke Circle and the Royal Society; 2. The Weekly Letter Reading Database (WLRD); 3. Acts of Reading; 4. Reading Literature and History: Case studies; 5. Science, the Royal Society and Learned Journals; Conclusion: Reading and the Royal Society.
