Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92)
Madeleine de Scudéry (1607–1701) was a celebrated seventeenth-century novelist and essayist, yet her engagement with natural philosophy and the sciences has been largely overlooked. This volume presents the first English translation of 'The Story of Two Chameleons' (1688) and situates it within Scud...
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| Formato: | Online |
| Lenguaje: | inglés |
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Open Book Publishers
2026
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| Acceso en línea: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110838 |
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| _version_ | 1869527289833717760 |
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| author | Taylor, Helena |
| author_browse | Taylor, Helena |
| author_facet | Taylor, Helena |
| author_sort | Taylor, Helena |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Madeleine de Scudéry (1607–1701) was a celebrated seventeenth-century novelist and essayist, yet her engagement with natural philosophy and the sciences has been largely overlooked. This volume presents the first English translation of 'The Story of Two Chameleons' (1688) and situates it within Scudéry’s broader scientific and philosophical writing. Beyond this seminal text, the book explores her reflections on atomism, natural history, and epistemology, revealing her critical engagement with cutting-edge theories of her time, including a challenge to the Cartesian ‘animal-machine’ hypothesis. By translating and analyzing key sections from her multi-volume Conversations (1680–1692), including ‘On Uncertainty’, ‘The Story of Prince Ariamène’, which features Democritus, and ‘On Butterflies’, alongside selected manuscript material, this volume demonstrates how Scudéry’s interdisciplinary approach defied rigid intellectual boundaries, activating what Anne-Lise Rey terms ‘epistemic mobility.’ Her work offers a vital perspective on women’s contributions to the history of science and philosophy, and illuminates the ways in which marginalized voices engaged with and shaped knowledge production. With a critical introduction and extensive commentary, this open access edition makes Scudéry’s work widely available to scholars and students in early modern studies, French literature, philosophy, animal studies, and the environmental humanities. It is a timely contribution to ongoing efforts to recover women’s intellectual history and reassess the intersections of literature, science, and philosophy in early modern Europe. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-173573 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| publisherStr | Open Book Publishers |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1735732026-03-19T13:19:35Z Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92) Taylor, Helena Madeleine de Scudéry Early Modern Science Women in Philosophy Seventeenth-Century Literature Animal Studies Epistemology and Atomism thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDX History of science thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800 thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies::JBCC9 History of ideas thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls::JBSF11 Feminism and feminist theory Madeleine de Scudéry (1607–1701) was a celebrated seventeenth-century novelist and essayist, yet her engagement with natural philosophy and the sciences has been largely overlooked. This volume presents the first English translation of 'The Story of Two Chameleons' (1688) and situates it within Scudéry’s broader scientific and philosophical writing. Beyond this seminal text, the book explores her reflections on atomism, natural history, and epistemology, revealing her critical engagement with cutting-edge theories of her time, including a challenge to the Cartesian ‘animal-machine’ hypothesis. By translating and analyzing key sections from her multi-volume Conversations (1680–1692), including ‘On Uncertainty’, ‘The Story of Prince Ariamène’, which features Democritus, and ‘On Butterflies’, alongside selected manuscript material, this volume demonstrates how Scudéry’s interdisciplinary approach defied rigid intellectual boundaries, activating what Anne-Lise Rey terms ‘epistemic mobility.’ Her work offers a vital perspective on women’s contributions to the history of science and philosophy, and illuminates the ways in which marginalized voices engaged with and shaped knowledge production. With a critical introduction and extensive commentary, this open access edition makes Scudéry’s work widely available to scholars and students in early modern studies, French literature, philosophy, animal studies, and the environmental humanities. It is a timely contribution to ongoing efforts to recover women’s intellectual history and reassess the intersections of literature, science, and philosophy in early modern Europe. 2026-03-19T13:19:34Z 2026-03-19T13:19:34Z 2026-03-02T18:00:43Z 2026 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110838 9781805115847 9781805115823 9781805115830 9781805115861 9781805115854 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173573 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/110838/1/9781805115847.pdf Open Book Publishers Open Book Publishers 10.11647/OBP.0465 10.11647/OBP.0465 b014b543-78bd-4c3b-bc71-b68e2ac855b9 9781805115847 9781805115823 9781805115830 9781805115861 9781805115854 Open Book Publishers 248 Cambridge, UK open access |
| spellingShingle | Madeleine de Scudéry Early Modern Science Women in Philosophy Seventeenth-Century Literature Animal Studies Epistemology and Atomism thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDX History of science thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800 thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies::JBCC9 History of ideas thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls::JBSF11 Feminism and feminist theory Taylor, Helena Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92) |
| title | Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92) |
| title_full | Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92) |
| title_fullStr | Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92) |
| title_short | Science in the Salon: Atoms and Animals in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 'Conversations' (1680–92) |
| title_sort | science in the salon atoms and animals in madeleine de scudery s conversations 1680 92 |
| topic | Madeleine de Scudéry Early Modern Science Women in Philosophy Seventeenth-Century Literature Animal Studies Epistemology and Atomism thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDX History of science thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800 thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies::JBCC9 History of ideas thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls::JBSF11 Feminism and feminist theory |
| topic_facet | Madeleine de Scudéry Early Modern Science Women in Philosophy Seventeenth-Century Literature Animal Studies Epistemology and Atomism thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDX History of science thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800 thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies::JBCC9 History of ideas thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF1 Gender studies: women and girls::JBSF11 Feminism and feminist theory |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110838 |
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