Litmus

Short Stories from Modern Science

Page Ra

Like the creation myths they supersede, the revelations of science are seared into our collective imagination through storytelling. From Archimedes' bath to Newton's apple, vivid accounts of scientific discovery help us understand the principles behind each theory, and add to the larger narrative of how the universe works, and how we came to be here.

This anthology draws out and distills science's love of narrative from a wide range of scientific disciplines, weaving theory into very human stories, and delving into the humanity of theorists and experimenters as they stood on the brink of momentous discoveries: from Joseph Swan's original light-bulb moment to the uncovering of "mirror neurons" lighting up empathy zones in the human brain; from Einstein's revelation on a Bern tram, to Pavlov's identification of personality types thanks to a freak flood in his St Petersburg lab.

Each story has been written in close consultation with scientists and historians and is accompanied by a specially written afterword, expanding on the science for the general reader.

Together, they bring vividly to life the stories behind the "eureka!" moments that changed the way we live, forever.

About the Author

Ra Page is the founder and Editorial Manager of Comma Press. He's the editor of numerous anthologies, including "The City Life Book of Manchester Short Stories" (Penguin, 1999), co-editor of "The New Uncanny" (winner of the Shirley Jackson Award, 2008) and "Litmus", voted one of 2011's books of the year by The Observer. Between 2004 and 2013 he was also the coordinator of Literature Northwest, a support agency for independent publishers in the region (until it formally merged with Comma). He also coordinates Comma Film, an on-going film adaptation project which regularly commissions filmmakers and animators to adapt short literary texts (poems and short stories). He is a former journalist, having been Deputy Editor for City Life magazine, and a former Director of Manchester Poetry Festival. His critical work has been published in The Journal of the Short Story in English, and he's been a producer, co-writer and co-director on a number of short film projects. He read Physics and Philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford and has an MA in English from the University of Manchester.

Reviews

"Exquisite... delectable" – New Scientist

"The pairings work brilliantly, giving stereoscopic vision... ingenious... unfailingly interesting" – The Independent

"A very alive, illuminating and good-natured collection" – The Observer

"An inspiring tribute to inquiring minds" – The Guardian

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