Mary Somerville: And the World of Science [Paperback]

A meticulously documented biography ... a good introduction to this fascinating and fast-moving period.

Eminently readable and an excellent introduction to Mary Somerville.

A vivid and engaging insight into the life and legacy of Mary Somerville.

Conveys an entrancing picture of a woman and a scientist who combined formidable talent with a remarkably charming personality.

Mary Somerville (1780-1872), after whom Somerville College Oxford was named, was the first woman scientist to win an international reputation entirely in her own right, rather than through association with an eminent relative.

She was active in astronomy, one of the most demanding branches of science in her day. One factor that made her career and reputation possible was the social composition of the world at that time. Early 19th century science in Britain was dominated by Grand Amateurs, not by salaried professionals. The amateurs paid for their own research using private resources. Unhampered by lack of university education, Mary Somerville was to science what Jane Austen was to literature and Frances Trollope was to travel writing.

Allan Chapman's brilliant account brings to light the story of an extraordinary 19th century scientist whose achievements for science and for women will at last become widely known.

Mary Somerville's contribution to science and to the emancipation of women is little known outside academia. This popular account by the world's leading authority on Mary Somerville will at last reveal her achievements to a very wide audience.

Dr Allan Chapman MA, DPhil, FRAS is an historian of science at Oxford University. He is an active researcher in the history of astronomy, specialising in the biographies of nineteenth-century astronomers. He has written several books, and in an internationally renowned lecturer and author. His recent TV series Gods in the Sky was hugely successful, launching him as a compelling and uniquely well-informed presenter of science history.