The Age of Wonder

Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and winner of the Royal Society Prize for Science Books, Richard Holmes’s dazzling portrait of the age of great scientific discovery is a groundbreaking achievement.

The book opens with Joseph Banks, botanist on Captain Cook’s first Endeavour voyage, who stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769 fully expecting to have located Paradise. Back in Britain, the same Romantic revolution that had inspired Banks was spurring other great thinkers on to their own voyages of artistic and scientific discovery – astronomical, chemical, poetical, philosophical – that together made up the ‘age of wonder’.

In this breathtaking group biography, Richard Holmes tells the stories of the period’s celebrated innovators and their great scientific discoveries: from telescopic sight to the miner’s lamp, and from the first balloon flight to African exploration.

Short-listed for Dingle Prize 2009 Short-listed for BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2009

“'Thrilling: a portrait of bold adventure among the stars, across the oceans, deep into matter, poetry and the human psyche.' Peter Forbes, Independent'A glorious blend of the scientific and the literary that deserves to carry off armfuls of awards and confirms Holmes's reputation as one on the stellar biographers of the age.' Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year'No question the non-fiction book of the year is Richard Holmes's "The Age of Wonder", not only beautifully written, but also kicking open a new perspective on the Romantic age.' Andrew Marr, Observer, Books of the Year'Itself a wonder a masterpiece of skilful and imaginative storytelling.' Michael Holroyd, Guardian, Books of the Year'Rich, solid and sparkling, this is a wonderful book.' Claire Tomalin, Guardian, Books of the Year'Dazzling and approachable. It's a brilliantly written account…original in its connections and very generous in its attention.' Andrew Motion, Guardian, Books of the Year'Witty, intellectually dazzling and wholly gripping.' Richard Mabey, Guardian, Books of the YearStephen Howe, Independent (Book of the Year)'Glittering.' Christian Tyler, Financial Times (Book of the Year)'A splendid plum pudding of a book.' Nigel Hawkes , The Times (Book of the Year)'Holmes...brings the full force of his love and understanding of the Romantic Age to the lives of three pioneering figures...writing, like the figures he describes...driven by a common ideal of intense, even reckless personal commitment to discover, and this is what makes this book so wonderful.' The Times (Book of the Year)'Exhilarating in its ambition.' Scotsman (Book of the Year)'A dazzling cornucopia.' Economist (Book of the Year)'No one could be better qualified for the task…Scientists, like poets, need a sense of wonder, a sense of humility and a sense of humour. Holmes has all three in abundance.' Sunday Telegraph'Exuberant…Holmes suffuses his book with the joy, hope and wonder of the revolutionary era. Reading it is like a holiday in a sunny landscape, full of fascinating bypaths that lead to unexpected vistas…it succeeds inspiringly.' John Carey, Sunday Times'Heartbreaking accounts of hopes and fears, ambitions and disappointments dance along the pages…There is no dry page in this visceral, spirited and sexy account.' The Times'Richard Holmes's stellar collective biography…gives a gripping account of the scientific research that inspired a sense of wonder in poets and experimenters alike…fascinating…this beautifully crafted book deserves all the praise it will undoubtedly attract. Well-researched and vividly written "The Age of Wonder" will fascinate scientists and poets alike.' Literary Review'A new model for scientific exploration and poetic expression in the Romantic period. Informative and invigorating, generous and beguiling, it is, indeed, wonderful.' Guardian'Vividly conveys the compelling fusion of art and science in the 18th century…this is a book to linger over, to savour the tantalising details of the minor figures…"The Age of Wonder" allows readers to recapture the combined thrill of emerging scientific order and imaginative creativity.' Financial Times'Wonderfully engaging…Holmes brilliantly illuminates the human and subjective aspects of science-making.' Scotsman'Mesmerising…Holmes succeeds in bringing alive this period in all its complexities without ever losing the narrative pace…his writing itself proves that science and poetry can be united.' Mail on Sunday'A seamless narrative that is laced, to good effect, with a great deal of titillating gossip. The end result is a masterpiece: informative, amusing, insightful and utterly compelling.' Observer'Delicious…exuberant”

‘A glorious blend of the scientific and the literary that deserves to carry off armfuls of awards and confirms Holmes's reputation as one on the stellar biographers of the age.’ Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year

‘No question – the non-fiction book of the year is Richard Holmes's “The Age of Wonder”, not only beautifully written, but also kicking open a new perspective on the Romantic age.’ Andrew Marr, Observer, Books of the Year

‘Itself a wonder – a masterpiece of skilful and imaginative storytelling.’ Michael Holroyd, Guardian, Books of the Year

‘Dazzling and approachable. It's a brilliantly written account…original in its connections and very generous in its attention.’ Andrew Motion, Guardian, Books of the Year

‘Witty, intellectually dazzling and wholly gripping.’ Richard Mabey, Guardian, Books of the Year

‘So immediate and so beguiling is Holmes's prose that we are with him all the way.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Brimming with anecdote, Holmes's enthusiastic narrative amply conveys the period's spirited, often reckless pursuit of discovery with an astute balance of technical detail and the wider cultural picture.’ Financial Times‘Rich and sparkling, this is a wonderful book’ Claire Tomalin, Guardian, Books of the Year

‘Exuberant…Holmes suffuses his book with the joy, hope and wonder of the revolutionary era. Reading it is like a holiday in a sunny landscape, full of fascinating bypaths that lead to unexpected vistas…it succeeds inspiringly.’ John Carey, Sunday Times

‘Thrilling: a portrait of bold adventure among the stars, across the oceans, deep into matter, poetry and the human psyche.’ Peter Forbes, Independent

Richard Holmes is Professor of Biographical Studies at the University of East Anglia, and editor of the Harper Perennial series Classic Biographies launched in 2004. His is a Fellow of the British Academy, has honorary doctorates from UEA and the Tavistock Institute, and was awarded an OBE in 1992. His first book, Shelley: The Pursuit, won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1974. Coleridge: Early Visions won the 1989 Whitbread Book of the Year, and Dr Johnson & Mr Savage won the James Tait Black Prize. Coleridge: Darker Reflections, won the Duff Cooper Prize and the Heinemann Award. He has published two studies of European biography, Footsteps: Adventures of a Romantic Biographer in 1985, and Sidetracks: Explorations of a Romantic Biographer in 2000.

Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and winner of the Royal Society Prize for Science Books, Richard Holmes's dazzling portrait of the age of great scientific discovery is a groundbreaking achievement. The book opens with Joseph Banks, botanist on Captain Cook's first Endeavour voyage, who stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769 fully expecting to have located Paradise. Back in Britain, the same Romantic revolution that had inspired Banks was spurring other great thinkers on to their own voyages of artistic and scientific discovery - astronomical, chemical, poetical, philosophical - that together made up the 'age of wonder'. In this breathtaking group biography, Richard Holmes tells the stories of the period's celebrated innovators and their great scientific discoveries: from telescopic sight to the miner's lamp, and from the first balloon flight to African exploration.

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