Sex, Botany and Empire (Icon Science): The Story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks

Sex, Botany and Empire (Icon Science): The Story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks

by PatriciaFara (Author)

Synopsis

When the imperial explorer James Cook returned from his first voyage to Australia, scandal writers mercilessly satirised the amorous exploits of his botanist, Joseph Banks. Was the pursuit of scientific truth really what drove Enlightenment science? Patricia Fara reveals the existence, barely concealed under Banks' and Linnaeus' camouflage of noble Enlightenment, of the altogether more seedy drives to conquer, subdue and deflower in the name of the British Imperial state.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Publisher: Icon Books
Published: 04 Nov 2004

ISBN 10: 1840465735
ISBN 13: 9781840465730

Media Reviews
'Absorbing' Observer; 'Enticing... with a sharp eye for 18th-century mores, this is an engrossing exploration of the growth of the British Empire.'Good Book Guide; 'Delectable' Marina Warner; 'An entertaining account of the appliance of science to the needs of empire' Financial Times; 'The book's lively prose combines historical detail with humorous anecdotes.' Geographical Magazine
Author Bio
Patricia Fara is a Fellow of Clare College at the University of Cambridge, where she teaches history of science. Previous books include Newton: The Making of Genius (Macmillan, 2001) and An Entertainment for Angels (Icon, 2001).