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The Rise Of Public Lecturing In England

by Alan Osler

282 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #06-1905; ISBN 1-4251-0148-8; US$32.26, C$37.10, EUR26.50, £18.55

This book deals with a vast and important educational movement that began in response to an urgent need for scientific and technical instruction and came to include subjects as diverse as midwifery and English literature.

About the Book

Public lecturing in England began in response to an urgent need for scientific and technical instruction, a need not being met by the established institutions. Its continuance contributed tellingly to the spread of Newtonian science no less than to inquiries and discoveries leading to the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions. Lecturing on subjects such as anatomy and midwifery was largely responsible for improvements in public health and longevity; while later lecturing on subjecs in the arts - notably on the nation's literary works - may be seen as having promoted reading and raised significantly the level of civilization in the land.

This book brings to light and brings together figures from diverse disciplines through several centuries. It breaks down traditional barriers, as between science and the arts; while describing a vast and important movement in education and civilization in England.

About the Author

Alan Osler is a Canadian ex-university professor holding degrees from Manitoba, Oxford and London. He has studied and worked in Canada, Britain, Switzerland and France; and now lives in the Marne Valley outside Paris.

Excerpts