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Beyond his pivotal place in the history of scientific thought, Charles Darwin's writings and his theory of evolution by natural selection have also had a profound impact on art and culture and continue to do so to this day. The Literary and Cultural Reception of Charles Darwin in Europe is a comprehensive survey of this enduring cultural impact throughout the continent. With chapters written by leading international scholars that explore how literary writers and popular culture responded to Darwin's thought, the book also includes a complete timeline of his cultural reception in Europe and bibliographies of major translations in each country.
List of contents
Introduction (Elinor Shaffer and Thomas F. Glick)
Timeline (Thomas F. Glick)
I: Literature and Darwin
1. ‘Darwin, Zola, and Dr Prosper Lucas’s Treatise on Natural Heredity’ (David Baguley)
2. ‘Darwin and Proust’ (Céline Surprenant)
3. ‘Of Cavemen, “Struggleforlifeurs”, and Deep Ecology: J.-H. Rosny Aîné’s Literary Response to Darwin and Human Evolution’ (Fanny Robles)
4. ‘Darwinism and Literature in German-Speaking Literature (1859- ca. 1890)’ (Philip Ajouri)
5. ‘Darwin in German Literary Culture 1890-1914’ (Nicholas Saul)
6. ‘A Germanic Reception in England: Friedrich Max Müller’s Critique of Darwin’s Descent of Man’ (Angus Nicholls)
7. ‘Translation and Transition: The Danish Literary Response to Darwin’ (Mathias Clasen, Stine Slot Grumsen, Hans Henrik Hjermitslev and Peter C. Kjærgaard)
8. ‘Darwin and Norwegian literature’ (Tore Rem)
9. ‘Darwinism in Dutch Literature’ (Mary Kemperink)
10. ‘Darwinian imagery in Spanish Literature of the Nineteenth Century’ (Pura Fernández)
11. ‘The Curious Translations of Darwinian Sexual Selection in Spain’ (Travis Landry)
12. ‘The Reception of Charles Darwin in Portugal (1865-1914) with special reference to the role of the ‘Generation of the 1870s’ (Ana Leonor Pereira and Pedro Fonseca)
13. ‘Echoes from Albion: The Reception of Darwin by José Maria de Eça de Queiroz’ (Patricia da Silva McNeill)
14. ‘Darwin and Literature in Italy: A Profitable Relationship’ (Elena Canadelli, Paolo Coccia, Telmo Pievani)
15. ‘Darwinian Reception and Selected Responses of Two Prominent Greek Literary Writers’ (Maria Zarimis)
16. ‘Darwin, Chekhov, and Mandelshtam’ (Donald Rayfield)
17. ‘Darwin’s Reception in Twentieth-Century Russian Prose and Science Fiction’ (Muireann Maguire)
18. ‘Darwin’s Migration to the East: Literary Responses to Darwinism in Multiethnic Galicia (Sacher-Masoch, Franko, Parandowski)’ (Daniel Schümann)
II. Commemorations of Darwin: the centenary and bicentenary of Darwin’s birth and the publication of Origin of Species
19. ‘1909: The Great Silence: Remarks on the non-celebration of Darwin’s centenary in France’ (Patrick Tort)
20. ‘Charles Darwin’s first French translations’ (Michel Prum)
21. ‘Discussion of Evolution in the German-Speaking World in the 1959 Darwin Centenary’ (Wolf-Ernst Reif, Uwe Hoßfeld and Rainer Schoch)
22. ‘Appraising Darwin in The Netherlands: The celebrations of 1909, 1959 and 2009’ (Janneke van der Heide)
23. ‘Darwinian Celebrations in Portugal – 1882, 1909, 1959 and 1982’ (Pedro Fonseca and Ana Leonor Pereira )
24. ‘Commemorating Darwin in Italy: An Overview (1882-2009)’ (Elena Canadelli, Paolo Coccia, Telmo Pievani)
25. ‘“A matter of money ...”: The first Darwin commemoration in Norway in 1882’ (Thore Lie)
26. ‘Darwin’s Jubilees in Russia’ (Eduard I. Kolchinsky)
27. ‘In Recollection of a Radical Era: Celebrations of Darwin and Darwinism in Sweden’ (Thord Heinonen Silverbark)
28. ‘The Danish Commemoration of Darwin in 1909’ (Hans Henrik Hjermitslev)
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Thomas F. Glick is Emeritus Professor of History at Boston University, USA. He is author of Negotiating Darwin: The Vatican Confronts Evolution 1877-1902 (2006) and What About Darwin? (2010) and co-editor of The Reception of Charles Darwin in Europe (2008).
Elinor Shaffer, FBA, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Modern Languages Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. She is author of ‘Kubla Khan' and The Fall of Jerusalem: The Mythological School of Biblical Criticism and Secular Literature (1980), The Third Culture: Literature and Science (ed.) (1998), the annual journal Comparative Criticism (ed.), and a contributor to Samuel Butler: Victorian Against the Grain (2007). She is Series Editor of the Reception of British and Irish Authors in Europe (2004-present).
Summary
Beyond his pivotal place in the history of scientific thought, Charles Darwin's writings and his theory of evolution by natural selection have also had a profound impact on art and culture and continue to do so to this day. The Literary and Cultural Reception of Charles Darwin in Europe is a comprehensive survey of this enduring cultural impact throughout the continent.
With chapters written by leading international scholars that explore how literary writers and popular culture responded to Darwin's thought, the book also includes an extensive timeline of his cultural reception in Europe and bibliographies of major translations in each country.
Foreword
Surveys Darwin's influence on literature and culture throughout Europe, with chapters written by leading international scholars, a historical timeline and guides to major translations.
Additional text
A series of very thorough; well-written, well-researched essays are divided into major sections focusing on Germany and Northern Europe, Scandinavia, The Low Countries, Russia, Galicia, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece. Each essay examines not only Darwin’s work, but also how it was adapted within the work of other authors. Extensive footnotes are included with each essay. Also included is an expansive timeline (1847-2009) recording the appearance of various translations, examinations, interpretations, and criticism of Darwin’s work, as well as any commemorations and public events.
