Mark Twain, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the Head Readers: Literature, Humor, and Faddish Phrenology...

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Stanley Finger (Washington University, St Louis)

Mark Twain, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the Head Readers

Literature, Humor, and Faddish Phrenology

Stanley Finger (Washington University, St Louis)

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English

Cambridge University Press
06 April 2023

Psychology; History of science; Palmistry, phrenology & physiognomy

Having a phrenological 'head reading' was one of the most significant fads of the nineteenth century – a means for better knowing oneself and a guide for self-improvement. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) had a lifelong yet long overlooked interest in phrenology, the pseudoscience claiming to correlate skull features with specialized brain areas and higher mental traits. Twain's books are laced with phrenological terms and concepts, and he lampooned the head readers in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He was influenced by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who also used his humor to assail head readers and educate the public. Finger shows that both humorists accepted certain features of phrenology, but not their skull-based ideas. By examining a fascinating topic at the intersection of literature and the history of neuroscience, this engaging study will appeal to readers interested in phrenology, science, medicine, American history, and the lives and works of Twain and Holmes.

By: Stanley Finger (Washington University St Louis)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 650g
ISBN: 9781009301299
ISBN 10: 1009301292
Pages: 332
Publication Date: 06 April 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Stanley Finger is Professor Emeritus of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, USA. He has published more than 250 articles and twenty-two books, including Origins of Neuroscience (1994), Minds Behind the Brain (2000), The Shocking History of Electric Fishes (2011), and Franz Joseph Gall (2019). He edited the Journal of the History of Neurosciences for twenty years.

Reviews for Mark Twain, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the Head Readers: Literature, Humor, and Faddish Phrenology

'The book contains valuable additions to knowledge … This carefully researched, meticulously documented study will be of interest to students of literary and cultural history as well as to scholars of the history of science … Highly recommended.' J. D. Vann, Choice