Nature, Literature and Culture: Affinities, Influences, Lives and Ideas

Nature, Literature and Culture: Affinities, Influences, Lives and Ideas explores the profound connections between scientific inquiry and literary expression across generations of thinkers and writers.In poetry, Erasmus Darwin attempts to decode the mysteries of botany and geology, while through autobiography and biography, Charles Darwin makes sense of both himself and his grandfather’s shared fascination with biology. Jane Gray concentrates on the life of Asa Gray, a champion of Darwin at Harvard. Both Charles Darwin and Jane Gray humanize their subjects while simultaneously revealing their own perspectives and passions. The Thaxters demonstrate how artistic and interests flow from one generation to the next. Writing humanizes mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology through the works of Marie Curie reflecting on Pierre Curie and herself, Bertrand Russell examining his own life and contributions, and Sara Turing chronicling the remarkable life of her son, Alan Turing. Denis Kelly offers a unique dual perspective as he represents both himself and Winston Churchill, focusing on the intersection of historical life, scholarship and leadership.This volume concludes with contemporary ecological writing, reflecting our generation’s urgent focus on climate and environmental concerns, bringing the conversation full circle from scientific wonder to responsibility.

About the Author

Jonathan Locke Hart received his PhD in English from the University of Toronto and a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and member of Academia Europea. He is also senior fellow, Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, Victoria College, University of Toronto; associate at Harvard University Herbaria; life member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge; senior fellow of Abigail Adams Institute; and Adjunct Professor of Amity School of Languages, Amity University Jaipur. In recent years, he was core faculty of comparative literature at Western University; Chair Professor of the School of Foreign Languages; Director at the Centre for Creative Writing, Literary Culture and Translation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Chair Professor of the School of Translation Studies; and Director of the International Cooperation Centre for Cross‑Cultural Studies and Dgtl Humanities, Shandong University. He has written over thirty books, edited other books and contributed book chapters. A winner of many international awards, including two Fulbrights to Harvard, and having served on national and international committees, including Fulbright and Killam, he has written over a hundred articles and essays and has held visiting appointments at Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton, the Sorbonne‑Nouvelle (Paris III), Leiden, UC Irvine, Peking University and elsewhere and has given classes, talks, readings and lectures internationally.