The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel
With a few exceptions, our view of the history of science has often focused solely on great men. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing “rediscovery” of female scientists and their often little-known or forgotten achievements. The present book is dedicated to this current development...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier (WVT)
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177708 |
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| Summary: | With a few exceptions, our view of the history of science has often focused solely on great men. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing “rediscovery” of female scientists and their often little-known or forgotten achievements. The present book is dedicated to this current development, also known as “herstory.” It shows that the genre of biographical fiction (i.e. the fictionalized representation of a historical person’s life) plays an important role in this rewriting that now includes and highlights the perspectives of women. In examining the depiction of female scientists in selected novels and analyzing the ways in which historical fact and fictional privilege intertwine in the portrayal of their biographies, this study reveals the genre’s potential for telling women’s life stories but also points to the stereotypical images and myths (re-)emerging despite the narratives’ avowed revisionist agendas. This book is highly valuable to feminist literary studies and an important addition to the growing field of biofiction scholarship, especially for the connections it draws to the history of science and women’s history. |
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