Abstract
George Bentham's Handbook of the British flora (1859) had a mixed reception during its publishing history. From motivations that were both botanical and educational, Bentham aimed to write a “popular” book for “beginners and amateurs” rather than a textbook or a Flora for experts, but his book was caught in cross-currents of mid-Victorian science. While some botanists welcomed the accessibility of Bentham's book, others were more critical and dismissive. Because Bentham wrote as an expert, his product was subject to judgment from those who were preoccupied with technical issues and debates. This essay charts the genesis of Bentham's book and studies its reception at a time of considerable change in cultures of natural history. It probably was not possible for Bentham's book to satisfy several quite different contemporary agendas. Recent scholarship about book history, forms of science writing, and sharpening demarcations between “amateurs” and “professionals” can help explain why Bentham's Handbook of the British flora had a category problem.
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