Customer Reviews

Heads and Headlines: Phrenological Fowlers

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This well-researched volume describes the Fowler family, certainly the most well-known and colourful "phrenological dynasty" of the 19th century. Besides their obvious interest in Phrenology, the Fowlers were also active in the reform movement, advocating sex education (a highly controversial subject in those days), women's rights (protesting against the then fashionable tight-laced corsets), and architecture (with the idea of octagon buildings). The author clearly explains the important role played by Phrenology in the definition of 19th century American culture, and by the Fowlers in particular.