Jane Marcet

Pamphlet Essays (Dodo Press) Jane Marcet

Jane Marcet née Haldimand (1769-1858) was a writer of introductory science books. In 1799 she married Alexander Marcet, a Swiss exile and physician, she settled in London where, through her husband, she had contact with many leading scientists. After helping to proof-read one of her husband's books, she decided to write her own, and produced expository books on chemistry, botany, religion and economics under the general title Conversations. The first of these was eventually published as Conversations on Natural Philosophy in 1819. Her Conversations on Chemistry was published anonymously in 1805, and became her most popular and famous work. She summarised and popularised the work of Humphrey Davy, whose lectures she attended. It was one of the first elementary science textbooks, going through sixteen editions in England and was an early inspiration to a young Michael Faraday. She also popularised the classical economics of Adam Smith and, particularly, David Ricardo. Her other works include: Conversations on Political Economy (1816), Conversations on Vegetable Physiology (1829), Essays (1831), Conversations on Government (1836), Conversations on the History of England (1842) and Conversations on Language (1844).