Erasmus Darwin's Gardens: Medicine, Agriculture and the Sciences in the Eighteenth Century
Book
Authors | Elliott, Paul |
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Abstract | Famous as the author of the Botanic Garden (1791) and grandfather of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was a larger-than-life enlightenment natural philosopher (scientist) and writer who practised as a doctor across the English Midlands for nearly half a century. A practical gardener and horticulturist, Darwin created a botanic garden near Lichfield - which galvanised his poetry - and kept other gardens, an orchard and small "farm" in Derby. Informed by his medical practice and botanical studies, Darwin saw many parallels between animals, plants and humans which aroused hostility during the years of revolution, warfare and reaction, but helped him to write Zoonomia (1794/96) and Phytologia (1800) - his major studies of medicine, agriculture and gardening. Captivated by the changing landscapes and environments of town and country and supported by social networks such as those in Lichfield and Derby, Darwin avidly exchanged ideas about plants, animals and their diseases with family, patients, friends such as the poet Anna Seward (1742-1809), farmers, fellow doctors, huntsmen and even the local mole catcher. |
Keywords | Erasmus Darwin; horticulture; agriculture; landscape |
ISBN | 9781783276103 |
Web address (URL) | http://hdl.handle.net/10545/625885 |
hdl:10545/625885 | |
File | File Access Level Open |
Publication dates | Jun 2021 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 26 Jul 2021, 10:37 |
Accepted | 2020 |
Year | 2021 |
Publisher | Boydell and Brewer |
Contributors | University of Derby |
https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/93w66/erasmus-darwin-s-gardens-medicine-agriculture-and-the-sciences-in-the-eighteenth-century
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