Mark Twain, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the Head Readers: Literature, Humor, and Faddish Phrenology

Author:   Stanley Finger (Washington University, St Louis)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
ISBN:  

9781009301299


Pages:   332
Publication Date:   06 April 2023
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
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Mark Twain, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the Head Readers: Literature, Humor, and Faddish Phrenology


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Overview

Having a phrenological 'head reading' was one of the most significant fads of the nineteenth century – a means for better knowing oneself and a guide for self-improvement. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) had a lifelong yet long overlooked interest in phrenology, the pseudoscience claiming to correlate skull features with specialized brain areas and higher mental traits. Twain's books are laced with phrenological terms and concepts, and he lampooned the head readers in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He was influenced by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who also used his humor to assail head readers and educate the public. Finger shows that both humorists accepted certain features of phrenology, but not their skull-based ideas. By examining a fascinating topic at the intersection of literature and the history of neuroscience, this engaging study will appeal to readers interested in phrenology, science, medicine, American history, and the lives and works of Twain and Holmes.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stanley Finger (Washington University, St Louis)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.00cm , Height: 2.60cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.650kg
ISBN:  

9781009301299


ISBN 10:   1009301292
Pages:   332
Publication Date:   06 April 2023
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

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Reviews

'The book contains valuable additions to knowledge … This carefully researched, meticulously documented study will be of interest to students of literary and cultural history as well as to scholars of the history of science … Highly recommended.' J. D. Vann, Choice


Author Information

Stanley Finger is Professor Emeritus of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, USA. He has published more than 250 articles and twenty-two books, including Origins of Neuroscience (1994), Minds Behind the Brain (2000), The Shocking History of Electric Fishes (2011), and Franz Joseph Gall (2019). He edited the Journal of the History of Neurosciences for twenty years.

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