This volume examines private libraries and book ownership in seventeenth-century England, with particular focus on how libraries developed over this period and the social impact that they had.

This book casts new light on the intellectual and theological reactions to geological discoveries in early nineteenth-century England, showing how accepted views of the creation were transformed and how the works of philosophers, poets and novelists reflected this transformation.

Distinguished historians of science give an appraisal of Sir Charles Lyell's life and works, and his influence through his travels across Europe and North America. Leading geologists assess Lyell's subsequent influence on climatology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, coal geology, regional tectonics, volcanology and natural hazards. Modern geological research constructed upon Lyell's legacy illustrates its wealth, 200 years on from his birth.