Jane Austen & Charles Darwin: Naturalists and Novelists

Graham (English, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U.) offers four interlocked essays discussing the writings of Jane Austen and Charles Darwin. The author, who has an avid interest in the writing of both the naturalist and the novelist, noticed a similarity in talents and sensibilities between the two. This seemingly unlikely pairing and the resulting questions regarding similarities is the topic of the book. Graham discusses the empirical tradition while focusing on the surprising similarities in the circumstances and preoccupations of both writers who, for example, were both keenly interested in sibling relations and courtship rituals. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Peter W. Graham teaches English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA. He publishes widely on 19th-century British literature and culture. His other books include Byron's Bulldog, Don Juan and Regency England, Articulating the Elephant Man (with Fritz Oehlschlaeger), and The Portable Darwin (coedited with Duncan Porter).