The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
Richard Holmes
"The Age of Wonder' is Richard Holmes' first major work of biography for a decade. It has been inspired by the scientific ferment that swept through Britain at the end of the 18th century, and which Holmes now radically redefines as 'the revolution of Romantic Science."
Award History
2 wins · 4 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionMajor | 2009 | Winner | Secondary source |
| Royal Society Science Book PrizeMajor | 2009 | Winner | Secondary source |
| Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionMajor | 2009 | Finalist | Secondary source |
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History | 2009 | Finalist | Secondary source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
02 Central places
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.
- Britain38%
03 Suggested argument
No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.
This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.
Holmes argues that Britain’s end-of-18th-century scientific ferment is better understood as a “revolution of Romantic Science.”
Model confidence 40%
04 Reading orientation
45 / 100 academicTrade / academic crossover
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 50%.