Eminent biographer Richard Holmes fuses romance and science in his new book, “The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science.” Returning to the era in which British scientists made discoveries that challenged centuries of understanding, Holmes examines the way the new knowledge affected the poets of the time. “Holmes blurs the line between science and the arts in the most appealing and accessible way,” writes the Guardian. Holmes’s thorough descriptions and research make palpable the thrill of discovery and an appreciation for the delicacy of poetic language. The New York Times says, “In assessing the quality of mind that poets and scientists of the Romantic generation had in common, Holmes stresses moral hope for human betterment.” The author understands the duplicity of scientific revelations, and his recognition of their effects on artists is an insightful jump that unites fields often supposed to be worlds a part.
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