Poul Anderson wrote historical novels although not about scientists;
James Blish wrote one historical novel about Roger Bacon, the discoverer of scientific method;
Blish also wrote sf novels about the discoverers or inventors of anti-gravity, anti-agathics, FTL, pantropy and instantaneous communication devices.
Someone - in Blish's works, Haertel - will succeed Einstein as Einstein succeeded Newton. The contributions of individuals to scientific discovery is emphasized more by Blish than by Anderson.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I clicked on the link to Holker Hall, and thought the house very much worth visiting. I was esp. interested in the library and I would have liked looking over some of those books.
Sean
Sean,
You would need special permission to TOUCH the books, of course.
A few book spines at the end of a shelf by a door are fake. They pull out to reveal light switches. When electricity was installed in 1916, it was felt that visible light switches would be unaesthetic.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Of course! I would not dream of touching any of those books without permission, and probably wearing protective gloves as well.
And the bit about light switches reminds us of how it can take time for people to get used to new technology.
Sean
Paul and Sean:
Any fake book spines in my library (there's not one, I assure you) would conceal weapons. "Sit right there, my good fellow, with The History of Sandford and Merton aimed directly at the base of your skull...."
Kaor, DAVID!
Ha! That is an amusing concept, concealing weapons in your office or library, just in case your visitor tries anything funny! Or possibly a protective shield would drop down between you and an assassin trying to kill you--as we see, I think, in Fleming's YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE when a "reprogrammed" Bond tried to kill M.
Sean
Sean,
In THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Dang! Another error due to a shaky memory. Simply imagine what might have happened if Dominic Flandry had been captured again by the Merseians and "remolded" by Aycharaych!
Sean
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