Description: "The writings of mineralogist and hydrogeologist Martine de Bertereau (ca. 1584-ca. 1643) and alchemist and chemist Marie Meurdrac (ca. 1610-1680) stand at the crossroads of the so-called Scientific Revolution, a significant period between Copernicus and Newton that oversaw a new ferment in both the theoretical and empirical investigation of the natural world. Their works illustrate this age of transition, a spectacular time of growth in ideas and discoveries for both men and women"-- Provided by publisher.
Brief description: Colette H. Winn, professor emerita at Washington University in Saint Louis, is author of Far from Home in Early Modern France: Three Women's Stories and Les Femmes témoins de la révocation de l'édit de Nantes.
Review Quotes: "This edition and translation of two significant seventeenth-century scientists by two leading scholars of early modern women intellectuals is a welcome addition to the Other Voice series. Martine de Bertereau and Marie Meurdrac have elicited limited scholarly attention in the history of science, but they are not widely known among scholars of the period. Neither figure has been translated into English. Larsen and Winn's introduction offers a thorough examination of what is known of each woman's life as well as a careful reading of her work. The translations themselves read well; a detailed scholarly apparatus illuminates technical scientific terms and provides references to relevant contemporary scholarship. This project enlarges our understanding of women's intellectual contributions at a pivotal moment in the emergence of modern science."-- "Julie Candler Hayes, Professor Emerita of French at the University of Massachusetts Amherst"