Erasmus Darwin Books

I had the good fortune to review this for _Library Journal_ and was dismayed to learn of the author's untimely death before I could send a letter of compliments. He tells us how the less scientific "soul" concept got transformed by scientific interests. But he goes by way of Mary Shelly's _Frankenstein_ (1815), which bootlegged a radical psychology that could not have been taught or allowed in church at the time. Frankenstein's creature was dispatched into a hostile world, abused, etc. and paid "humanity" back with monstrous acts. Mary S. was a teenager when she wrote it, and most popular retellings obscure the point that Reed brings forward.
Readers who like this may also want to read Otto Rank's _Psychology and the Soul_ (1930/1998).

This book is written as an essay, with no footnotes. A bibliographical essay in the appendix serves for documentation. The style is extremely lucid, in spite of the complexity of the intellectual history recounted here. Immensely instructive, original in the connections established and information unearthed, entertaining, marvellous. Can be read as a handbook or as a consecutive narrative (that will hold your attention)

Charles Darwin was an indifferent divinity student when he was upbraided by Dr. Robert Grant for overlooking his family's tradition of evolutionary thought, presumably Charles had bespoke himself of some Genesis convention. Erasmus Darwin was one of the great English intellectuals of the past 1,000 years, far surpassing the achievements of his grandson. His ideas were surpressed during the paranoid period of the Napoleon Wars. King-Hele's book takes some of the myth out of Darwinism finding that the modern convention is actually closer to Erasmus's theory than Charles's theory. Charles wrote a biography of Erasmus giving him his due but this was edited by Charles's daughter Henrietta. A very interesting tale about a seminal issue in modern science. This book is the cornerstone for reaching an understanding that Darwinism is a social movement not an intellectual movement, and is not about to be overthrown by historical facts. This book will not likely do well in the market since the educated public loves the old stories and trash science like the Selfish Gene. It is also interesting to note that Freudism, equally out of date, is also impossible to eradicate, even though it is under general attack. Strange business this.

The figure of Erasmus Darwin in the history of evolutionary thought should be a more conspicuous one, since, along with Lamarck, he is really one of the true founders of evolutionary theory. This fascinating biography of a colorful figure shows the many-sided genius of the man in his times, and it seems right and proper that a great idea should find its heroic beginnings in poetry. The early idea of evolution was, and would remain, ambiguously associated with the parallel theme of progress and the generation of Erasmus Darwin was that of the first stage of the Industrial Revolution, and its attendant (revolutionary) philosophy of social change, and the possibility of change. The counterattack was swift in such figures as Malthus, and the discredit thrown on such as Erasmus D. would last a generation, and delay public acceptance of the idea of evolution. The famous Lunar Society, with which E. Darwin was associated, is the first bright side of the great industrial transformation just beginning to take place, and it is no accident that Charles Darwin's later theory would still carry the signs and symptoms of the signature ideology of the age.

The hero of this book is Erasmus Darwin, the real-world grandfather of Charles Darwin. He apparently was quite a spectacular observer and thinker, quite in the Sherlock Holmes mode. Indeed, a couple of the stories remind me greatly of Sherlock Holmes, one in particular of Hound of the Baskervilles. There are several novellas in this book, each of which stands alone. As another reviewer mentioned, this is an expanded version of the earlier Erasmus Magister, but it does have new stories that make it quite a buy, especially at this price!

Very readable and enjoyable. If you have an interest in the period, or are a fan of Sheffield's writing, you'll enjoy it.

This is a revised and expanded version of Charles Sheffield's earlier (1982) Ace paperback "Erasmus Magister". But neither the Introduction nor the cover tells you this.

At the dawning of the enlightenment, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin, stands as a voice of reason. England is beset with rumor of the supernatural--vampires, werewolves, and demons. Darwin approaches everything with an open-minded skepticism. Together with his treasure-anxious sidekick, Colonel Jacob Pole, Darwin delves deep into the mysteries that confront 18th century England finding, among other things, the Loch Ness Monster, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and a forgotten race of humans.

Author Charles Sheffield has created a charming set of stories of a past not too different from our own. Darwin contains the best of Sherlock Holmes as well as the gluttony of Nero Wolfe. I suspect that Sheffield meant his novel to be a reminder to us, in the 21st Century, to always remember to look to rational and scientific causes before we ascribe whatever we see to the supernatural or unexplainable. It is easy to see why Sheffield, a scientist, would choose Erasmus Darwin as his hero.

THE AMAZING DR. DARWIN is both powerful and amusing. Darwin is fallible enough to be sympathetic, and Pole is sympathetic without being completely brainless.

Erasmus Darwin's life is fascinating, and his ideas were well ahead of their time, but perhaps the author is a little too flattering about the poetry

What's so interesting is to learn
about the intellectual excitement in investigating
sciences that hadn't yet become the provinces of
academics and professionals. It makes me think of the
enthusiasm surrounding digital and computer
technologies--most of the interesting stuff in those
areas is done outside of academia. Innovations can
come from anywhere. It's also interesting to learn
that these 18th century folks from the midlands lived
so large and traveled so much abroad. I suppose they
weren't just ordinary people, but still it's
surprising. I suppose the innovations of the midland
potters and "toy" makers were the iPods and mobile
phones of their day.

There are also some writing gems in this book. I like
this about James Watt on page 101: "Standing on the
Green, which on weekdays was white with linen laid out
to bleach, the realization 'flashed on his mind at
once, and filled him with rapture'. But it was the
Sabbath, and no good Presbyterian could work. The
grass was bare of cloth and Watt had to wait."