Literature and science : social impact and interaction / John H. Cartwright and Brian Baker.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 437-446) and index.

Medieval Cosmology and European Literature: Dante and Chaucer -- Science and literature in the Elizabethan Renaissance -- Science and Literature in Seventeenth Century England -- Science and literature 1680-1790 -- The Touch of Cold Philosophy: The Response to Science in Romantic Literature 1790-1840 -- Nineteenth Century American Literature and Science: problems of analogy (BB) -- Those Dreadful Hammers: geology and evolution in 19th century literature (JHC) -- Darwin's Gothic: Science and Literature in the Late Nineteenth Century (BB) -- Themes in Science Fiction (BB) -- Science and Literature in the Twentieth century: From Entropy to Chaos (BB) -- The Two Cultures Debates -- Science Wars and Imperial Ambitions.

"Spanning 600 years from the time of Chaucer to the present day, Literature and Science explains the complex interplay between science and literature over six centuries and is packed with information about the history of science fiction and science fact.".

"From the writings of Chaucer to the phenomenal appeal of modern TV shows like The X-Files and Star Trek, scientific endeavor has had a profound impact on Anglo-American literature and culture. From the pioneering feminist ideas of Mary Shelley, creator of Frankenstein, to Robert A. Heinlein's Revolt in 2100, which predicted an America in which scientific research is suffocated by a ruling clique of ultraconservative Christians, the literature of the English language has long reflected scientists' wider societal concerns. This volume adopts a chronological framework to chart the evolving nature of such concerns, probing the creative tension at the heart of the relationship between science and literature."--BOOK JACKET.