Many of the insects she described were new to Europeans, and she was the first naturalist to depict insects and their host plants together in one composition, making this one of the earliest tropical ecology studies.
She is still admired today for her scientific contributions and the exceptional artistic quality of her work. The edition of the Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium was published in both Latin and in Dutch. This edition contains 12 additional engraved plates. Even after years, the eye for detail look at how the caterpillar has been chewing on the leaves!
Until the nineteenth century, illustrations were usually printed in black and then colored by hand. For the edition of the Metamorphosis, Merian and her two daughters colored many of the plates themselves. In later editions this work was done by colorists. The quality of the coloring varied greatly. Buyers could also decide to leave the illustrations uncolored. The three copies in the JCB showcase the uniqueness of each copy.
Copy 1 is uncolored, and in copies 2 and 3 the coloring and shading are subtly different. Copy 3 is also a mirror image of the other two copies. This is because Merian pioneered a printing technique called counterproofing. In a counterproof, the outlines of the image are softer and there are no platemarks on the page, which makes it look more like an original watercolour. From left to right: Merian, Maria Sibylla. Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium. Latin edition c. The annotations are full English translations of the Latin text accompanying each plate.
In the late eighteenth century it was not uncommon for elite and middle-class British women to accompany male relatives, often plantation owners or Royal Navy officers, on journeys to the British colonies in the West Indies. Curious to learn more about their new surroundings, some women set about studying, collecting, and recording the native flora and fauna of islands such as St Kitts, Jamaica, and Antigua. Her father was a West-Indian plantation owner and governor of the Leeward Islands.
In she travelled there with her parents, and in , at the age of seventeen, she got married on St Kitts to Walter Riddell, lieutenant and plantation owner on Antigua. As a result of her travels Riddell published Voyages to the Madeira and Leeward Caribbean Isles: with sketches of the natural history of these islands Part travel journal, part natural history, the book gives a detailed and lively account of the flora and fauna of the Caribbean.
Riddell was one of the first women to publish on the natural history of this region, and her account was lauded for its scientific detail and accuracy.
She used the classification system of Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus to identify and categorize her findings. Listed in alphabetical order, entries contain extensive information on the appearance, flavour, and usefulness of a wide variety of plants.
She probably gained a lot of botanical information from discussions with local inhabitants. With the publication of her book this local knowledge was mediated to European audiences.
See this map here. Since zoology was largely considered to be a male domain in this period, Riddell was challenging traditional gender roles with the publication of her work.
Lydia Byam baptized in Antigua on 4 September -? A collection of exotics, from the island of Antigua was printed in London around The book consists of four pages of short botanical descriptions, followed by accompanying plates of hand-colored engravings. In Byam published A collection of fruits from the West Indies: drawn and coloured from nature, and, with permission, most humbly dedicated to the Princess Elizabeth.
Each plate has a caption identifying the plant. One possible reason for this is that they both used the Linnaean scheme for naming plants. Could the two women have known each other? Riddell does record a visit to a Byam family on Antigua in her Voyages, but there is no mention of a Lydia Byam, and there is no other evidence to suggest that they crossed paths. Nonetheless, it is intriguing to imagine these two women as forming part of a larger female network of scientific exchange.
In Riddell : 'The canella alba , or wild cinnamon , flourishes here with astonishing luxuriance. The leaf has a strong, spicy, aromatic taste; and the berries are delightfully fragrant' pp.
Pulled back to earth on the eve of his marriage to the beautiful Princess Shizala, brilliant physicist Michael Kane must once again journey to the Red Planet to reclaim a life of swordplay and high adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs! Kane finds himself on a different Mars, a Once more into the matter transmitter for an unforgettable journey to ancient Mars! Kane finds himself on a different Mars, a place of blue giants and red revolution that ultimately leads to a ruined obsidian city inhabited by savage spider-men.
Cover Illustration and Frontispiece: Richard Hescox Get A Copy. Paperback , No. More Details Original Title. Michael Kane. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. View 2 comments. Moorcock claimed to have written the entire trilogy in just over a week, and the rushed feel of the text and occasionally somewhat illogical plot twists and easy characterizations does tend to support that.
Moorcock was not trying for Blades of Mars by Edward Powys Bradbury was later published as Lord of the Spiders by Michael Moorcock, leading to some headaches for bibliographers.
Moorcock was not trying for any kind of social commentary or philosophical pronouncements in them, but they're definitely engaging and entertaining books. Fun stuff for sure! Nov 06, Mervi rated it liked it Shelves: books-read , science-fantasy. This certainly delivered, except for the women characters. Michael Kane is a physicist in present day s US. Apparently, in the first book he had invented a device which allowed him to travel to Mars, but millions of years in the past. There he had adventures and fell in love with a Martian woman but before they were married, he was yanked back to Earth.
Now, he has managed to build his device again, with the help of Edward, and vanishes from Earth. But moments later Kane reappears but clad in a strange way. It even has the frame story of the MC telling his tale to the writer who later publishes it as fiction. Desperate, he starts to walk. Kane fought against them in the first book. And the help of equally ruthless men. Kane likes Hool Haji and decides to help him free his people.
Most of the book is spent in this mission. Two races, one monstrous and another human-like, men battling with swords. This Mars had two technologically advanced races who have left behind ruins. High adventure with strange creatures and almost as strange allies. Moorcock perfectly mimics Burroughs' breathless style of adventure storytelling--both its positives and its negatives--to the point that I already have difficulty remembering which exploits correspond to which hero.
It's also loaded with eye-roll-inducing coincidences and one hell of a deus ex machina. Dumb, brawny fun, at best. Jun 04, Michael Adams rated it really liked it. Another fast-paced book of Martian adventure, filled with strange creatures, daring espionage, heroic deeds, and flashing swords. Another highly entertaining Edgar Rice Burroughs pastiche by Moorcock. The scientists working with Kane on the transporter bring him back from mars just before he can marry Princess Shizala.
Thinking him mad they won't let him anywhere near the project. After some time "recovering" on the continent he meets up with the wealthy narrator and privately builds his own machine to send him back to Mars. He arrives but he's in a completely different part of the planet and he thinks an earlier time too. They create an air balloon and return to Hool Haji's people where they overthrow the ruling tyrant and set Haji up as leader.
Then Kane's off again. This time to familiar territory where it seems the evil queen Horguhl's been using her mind control powers again to gain power - she's brainwashed the leader of Mishim Tep and set the nation against those of his beloved Varnal. The only way she'll stop is if Kane becomes hers!
Despite not being as tight as the previous novel there's lots here to enjoy. This one's a bit more misogynistic - on the one hand we have the "perfect" Shizala who is absent for almost the entire story and is seen here as little more than an end goal - the prize at the end of Kane's adventures rather than a character in her own right. Although having less force of personality than Dejah Thoris she kind of had enough spunk in the last book to make her a worthy heroine.
However here We really don't see enough of her to comment. The other two women are evil - We have the series villain - Horguhl - the power hungry queen who manipulates both men and beast with her mind. Then there's the foolish blue giantess Ora Lis obsessed with Hool Haji who betrays them when he spurns her. So women really don't get a good press in this one, it's very much a boys adventure story.
Still its not badly written although I didn't feel the pace was as good - it's quite episodic and the ending really rushed. Overall though, still one of the better ERB homages and if like me you can't get enough Martian adventures, you need this in your collection.
Apr 04, Paulo "paper books always" Carvalho rated it it was ok Shelves: pulp-fiction. So this was the second story on this short novels from Michael Moorcock. And after reading all, the weakest one. Info sur demande Coffret - Le cycle de Mars. Info sur demande Le cycle de Mars II. Info sur demande Cycle de Mars Le. Dispo sur commande Minidoka. Info sur demande Retour de tarzan. Harrison Reads A Princess of Mars.
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