The Booles and the Hintons: Two Dynasties That Helped Shape the Modern World

by Gerry Kennedy

Overview

A fascinating look at the Boole and Hinton families who are, among many other things, responsible for the invention of the Jungle Gym, the discovery of the Voynich Manuscript, and the creation of Boolean logic. Members of these two clans became renowned in their fields of physics, entomology, and botany. This book covers the generations between the Victorian era in England and the 20th century, when the family spread as far as the USA and China. With many black and white photos.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782051855
Publisher:	Cork University Press
Publication date:	02/15/2017
Pages:	492
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.60(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements viii

Foreword ix

Who's Who xii

1 Gravy Over a Tablecloth 1

The author's own background in West London. 'Discovery' of the Booles, brief outline of the Boole/Hinton major characters.

2 The Ugly Duckling 12

The Voynich Manuscript in brief: its history and research to date.

3 Bringing Starry Wisdom Down 29

The author's visit to Lincoln. George Boole's life and background.

4 The Missus 59

Mary Everest Boole: her life with George Boole and her own views on life and education.

5 Tadpoles into Frogs 83

The five Boole daughters' early lives.

6 The Wizard 89

James Hinton: his life and philosophy.

7 Trapdoors and Velveteen 104

Tsarist Russia in the late nineteenth century. Russian anarchists: Kropotkin and Stepniak. Charlotte Wilson and Wyldes Farm. Radical politics in England in the 1880s.

8 Citizens' Diplomacy 119

The authors peace politics, Moscow dissidents and journey on the Trans-Siberian railway, 1983. Ethel Boole's stay in St Petersburg, 1887-89.

9 Round and Round the Garden 141

James Hinton's comeuppance. Olive Schreiner and Havelock Ellis. Caroline Haddon. The Men and Women's Club.

10 The Riff-Raff of Rascaldom 153

The Society of Friends of Russian Freedom. Russian anarchists and related novels or the period. London arrival of Wilfrid Voynich.

11 Communing with Space 170

Charles Howard Hinton and the fourth dimension. His and Mary Ellen Boole's exile to Japan and the USA in 1887. Hinton's writings and influence in Europe. Peter Ouspensky in Russia.

12 The Citadel 197

The author's visit to Warsaw. Proletariat: early Polish socialists. History of Wilfrid's escape from Siberia.

13 Dead as Mutton? 213

Ethel Voynich's novel The Gadfly. Wilfrid Voynich establishes his book trade. Jack Raymond, another novel by Ethel.

14 The English Aunts 227

The five Boole sisters: Mary Ellen, Margaret, Alice, Lucy and Ethel's later lives. Ethel and Ivor Gurney.

15 Bringing Home the Bacon 247

The Voynich Manuscript again. Ethel and Wilfrid in the USA.

16 The Biggles of Communism 259

Ethel in New York; her last novel. Ethel 're-discovered'. Scandal with the spy, Sidney Reilly.

17 Olive and Ovod 277

The author's return to Russia via Lithuania searching for The Gadfly in Moscow and St Petersburg.

18 A CQR Life 302

The life of Cambridge scientist, Sir Geoffrey Taylor, grandson of George Boole.

19 The Hinton Genus 314

Hinton descendants in Mexico in the mining industry and their plant collecting. The life of Howard Everest Hinton, entomologist.

20 Uncollapsible Hintons 337

The Byrdcliffe arts community, Woodstock USA. Carmelita Hinton and the setting up of Putney School, Vermont USA.

21 The Gadget 356

The Manhattan Project and Joan Hinton. Hiroshima.

22 Peking Joan 374

Joan Hinton and Sid Engst in Mongolia, Si'an and Beijing during the Cultural Revolution.

23 Fanshen 398

The life of Bill Hinton and the rural revolution in China. Author's visit to Long Bow village.

24 The Vermonter 417

The author returns to the USA to visit Putney School.

Afterword 422

Notes 427

Illustration Credits 453

Index 456