Table of Contents

List of illustrations; General editor's preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. Ambition and Public Service: 1743–1775: 1. The barristers of Paris; 2. The republic of science; 3. Experimental physics; 4. The chemistry of salts; 5. The company of tax farmers; Part II. Consolidation and Contestation: 6. A new theory of combustion; 7. The campaign for French chemistry; 8. Gunpowder and agriculture. 9. Mesmerism and public opinion; Part III. Revolutionary Politics: 10. Representation, legislation and finance; 11. The republic of virtue; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

Comprehensive account illuminating Lavoisier's role in the rise of modern chemistry and the French Revolution.

Reviews

'A vivid impression of experiments in progress is recorded in excellent engravings by Lavoisier's wife Marie Anne Paulze …'. Andrew Prentice, Biologist