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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Main Author: Müller-Dittrich, Christine
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier (WVT) 2026
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Online Access:https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177708
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author Müller-Dittrich, Christine
author_browse Müller-Dittrich, Christine
author_facet Müller-Dittrich, Christine
author_sort Müller-Dittrich, Christine
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description 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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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1777082026-06-17T08:24:13Z The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel Müller-Dittrich, Christine Mary Anning Caroline Herschel Mileva Marić Ada Lovelace biographical fiction biofiction feminist literary studies thema EDItEUR::F Fiction and Related items::FC Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction 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. Published 2026-06-17T08:24:10Z 2026-06-17T08:24:10Z 2025 book 978-3-98940-102-0 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177708 eng SALS – Studies in Anglophone Literatures image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International https://www.wvttrier.de/en/p/the-historical-female-scientist-in-the-contemporary-anglophone-biographical-novel https://www.wvttrier.de/en/p/the-historical-female-scientist-in-the-contemporary-anglophone-biographical-novel Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier (WVT) Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier e817b8e7-82d0-4a7e-a757-258d62230608 978-3-98940-102-0 Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier 47 284 Trier open access
spellingShingle Mary Anning
Caroline Herschel
Mileva Marić
Ada Lovelace
biographical fiction
biofiction
feminist literary studies
thema EDItEUR::F Fiction and Related items::FC Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction
Müller-Dittrich, Christine
The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel
title The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel
title_full The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel
title_fullStr The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel
title_full_unstemmed The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel
title_short The Historical Female Scientist in the Contemporary Anglophone Biographical Novel
title_sort historical female scientist in the contemporary anglophone biographical novel
topic Mary Anning
Caroline Herschel
Mileva Marić
Ada Lovelace
biographical fiction
biofiction
feminist literary studies
thema EDItEUR::F Fiction and Related items::FC Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction
topic_facet Mary Anning
Caroline Herschel
Mileva Marić
Ada Lovelace
biographical fiction
biofiction
feminist literary studies
thema EDItEUR::F Fiction and Related items::FC Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction
url https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177708
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