--- product_id: 4270358 title: "The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution" brand: "deborah e. harkness" price: "VT10436" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/4270358-the-jewel-house-elizabethan-london-and-the-scientific-revolution store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution **Brand:** deborah e. harkness **Price:** VT10436 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution by deborah e. harkness - **How much does it cost?** VT10436 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/4270358-the-jewel-house-elizabethan-london-and-the-scientific-revolution) ## Best For - deborah e. harkness enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted deborah e. harkness brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution ## Images ![The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41qCiF+Y9OL.jpg) ![The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/419qJB7cJgL.jpg) ![The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31n2gL86k5L.jpg) ![The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31pZXTCYHoL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ethnography of Early Modern Science *by E***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 1, 2008* As an anthropologist, I was reading this book with delight, and thinking it was just like an ethnography--to find that at the end she describes it as "an ethnography of early modern science," and cites such ethnographic luminaries as George Marcus and Bruno Latour. Indeed, this is a look at the actual culture of scientific and technical discovery in London in Elizabeth I's time. It is a real eye-opener. London at the time was swarming with technologists, herbalists, medical investigators, and every sort of inventor--not to speak of quacks, con artists and mountebanks pretending to be all of the above. The search for knowledge was downright frantic. Those of us who knew only a little about the history of early modern science knew only a tiny thin thread of this--a bit of Bacon (she cuts him down to size!) and a few others. It is striking to compare London with China at approximately the same time; Benjamin Elman, William Rowe, and others have shown a similar and equally little-known ferment there, but even their best efforts don't seem to show as much sheer originality, inventiveness, and wild-eyed experimentation in Chinese cities as London had. China never quite made the breakthrough to modern science until the 20th century. London--and, Ogilvie reminds us, the whole "republic of letters" all over Europe--had a culture of scientific advance rooted in trades, crafts, mining, brewing, fish trapping, bird snaring, everything. People were trying every new scheme to produce more. Alchemy and astrology receive due respect here. In those days, everyone knew that metallurgy could make amazing transformations; no one knew that gold, silver, etc. were primary elements that simply could not be easily transformed into each other. (People were just beginning to realize that "earth, air, fire, water" wasn't a fully adequate list of elements.) Similarly, everyone knew the sun influenced every living thing, and the moon ruled the tides; logic and common sense brought everyone to the inescapable conclusion that the other heavenly bodies must be influencing us too. The failure of alchemy and astrology was not the failure of "pseudoscience" but the triumph of reality over logic and reason--a triumph we see today, every day, as the most reasonable economic and political predictions go down in flames, ruined by human cussedness. It would be decades before Boyle could be a successfully "skeptical chemist" building on experimental proof of alchemy's failure. Early modern science was a wonderful, exciting world. I came to it after a lifetime of ethnographic research on traditional knowledge of plants and animals--in China, indigenous North America, and elsewhere. How wonderful to see an ethnography of Elizabethan London's science. For the future, one recommendation to ethnographers of early science: Look at Charles Frake's LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL DESCRIPTION as well as Latour, Marcus, et al. Frake still does the best job of explaining how to study nonwestern and traditional scientific/technical knowledge. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wish I had the author for my history professor! *by J***. on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 23, 2021* Professor Harkness has a way of presenting historical detail so smoothly that you don't realize how much you've learned. Her academic writing and historical fiction are both underscored by her obvious passion for the subject ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Meticulous Recreation of Science during the reign of Elizabeth I *by K***R on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 26, 2013* Fascinating and detailed study of the emergence of science, the scientific method as exemplified by the doctors, astrologers, mathematicians and craftsmen of Elizabethan England. Harkness zeroes in on specific professions and educates a lay reader about the complexities of day-to-day life of colorful personalities tiny neighborhoods and hearty stew of religious conflict and political chicanery. Brilliant period recreation and indepth analysis of the then "state of the art" of medicine, astronomy, nautical instruments and time keeping devices. A wealth of information in readable prose that brings the brilliance of the varied minds of the Elizabethan era. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/4270358-the-jewel-house-elizabethan-london-and-the-scientific-revolution](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/4270358-the-jewel-house-elizabethan-london-and-the-scientific-revolution) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-10*