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Science 7 June 2002:
Vol. 296. no. 5574, pp. 1805 - 1806
DOI: 10.1126/science.1069966
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Essays on Science and Society

Also see the archival list of the Essays on Science and Society.

PORTRAITS OF SCIENCE:
Two Good Women, or Too Good to Be True?

Paula Gould*

The history of women scientists often reads like a chronology of hard-working heroines. This, in part, is thanks to the work of Victorian and Edwardian biographers, whose characterization of women as domesticated and dutiful family members has been passed on. This essay considers how such narratives have contributed to our recollections of Caroline Herschel and Mary Somerville.

Paula Gould works as a freelance science and medical writer and editor, based in Chester, U.K. She has a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science. E-mail: Paula.Gould{at}absw.org.uk

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)