The New Men

Abstract

Science communication should include some account of doing science as well as of its product; new scientific knowledge. Fiction and drama are well placed to communicate the process of doing science although, in practice, popular novels on this theme are rare. One exception is the collectivist period in British history from the early 1930s to the late 1960s, when several science-trained authors wrote popular novels about doing science. They gave reasonably sophisticated accounts of the practice, philosophy, sociology and politics of science and their representations of these activities are outlined here. If historical context was a major factor in these novels being written, this may explain why contemporary popular fiction about science is hard to publish. The economic upheavals of 2008 may herald a new era of managed capitalism which might trigger a fresh wave of fictional representations of science.