COLLECTED LETTERS OF ERASMUS DARWIN; ED. BY DESMOND G. KING-HELE

"Erasmus Darwin has often been cited as the most widely talented man of the past 250 years. He excelled in medicine and poetry, was an inventor and a man of science, and founded numerous societies. This collection of 460 of Darwin's letters, of which over half have never been published, provides many insights into the life of this amazing man." "Darwin was famous throughout Britain as a physician, and his medical letters to patients, and private letters to his physician son Robert spiced with outspoken medical opinions, are a rich source for historians of medicine. His lively letters to the 'Lunar Men', Boulton, Watt, Keir and Wedgwood, throw light on the progress of the Industrial Revolution in England. The letters also show that as a man of science, Erasmus Darwin was enthusiastic about physics, chemistry, meteorology and biology. This unique collection reveals not only the variety of Erasmus Darwin's talents, but also his wide range of important friendships."--BOOK JACKET.