Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Five books on the romance and wonder of Victorian science

Nicole Yunger Halpern is a Fellow of the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS), a theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland.

Yunger Halpern's new book is Quantum Steampunk: The Physics of Yesterday’s Tomorrow.

At Lit Hub she tagged five books imbued with the romance and wonder of Victorian science, including:
Marie Brennan, Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent

Imagine that our world contained dragons in the same way that it contains dolphins and dingoes. Now, imagine that you were the scientist—or natural historian—tasked with introducing rigor and precision into “draconic studies.” Moreover, imagine that you were a Victorian woman who couldn’t travel unaccompanied, who faced false accusations of canoodling with male colleagues, and who forged onward anyway, entranced by her studies. Voyage of the Basilisk is the midpoint of a five-book series whose premise struck me with its originality. Voyage, portraying the story of its heroine as she dissects sea snakes and sketches quetzalcóatl, is the series’ most vibrant title.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue