Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA)

February 9, 2023

A Woman of Science in Jane Austen's Time: presented by Mary Field and Murray Alexander
The focus of this first meeting of the year was a bit of a departure from our usual themes. This time we concentrated not on Jane herself but on a woman who lived in Jane's time and pursued a totally different discipline than Jane - science. 

Caroline Lucretia Herschel was an astronomer who, although she was born in Hanover moved to Bath to join two of her brothers when she was 22 years old and became famous in her own time for her musical talents as well as for her ground-breaking work in astronomy.  Although Caroline's time in Bath did not coincide with Jane's yet their lodgings were only about 4 1/2 blocks from one another.  But the real nexus between the two was they lived in that overlapping period between the eras known as "The Enlightenment" and "The Industrial Revolution".  That former period was characterized by curiosity, a thoughtful exploration of reason and logic while the latter was marked by invention and creativity.  This provided fertile ground for people like Jane and Caroline.

How was it that Jane was unable to be recognized for her genius in her time while Caroline came to be lauded and respected by her fellow scientists, sought after and attended by royalty and even today is honoured with having an asteroid and even a crater on the moon named after her.
The main resource for this presentation was "Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline Herschel" by Mrs. John Herschel (Caroline's nephew's son's wife).
The text of this presentation can be read here. 



 For those of you interested in further exploring the lives and work of Caroline and William Herschel Murray Alexander has provided a reading list.