Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science -- Catherine McNeur, Hardcover

The untold story of two sisters whose discoveries sped the growth of American science in the nineteenth century, combining "meticulous research and sensitive storytelling" (Janice P. Nimura, New York Times-bestselling author of The Doctors Blackwell)

In Mischievous Creatures, historian Catherine McNeur uncovers the lives and work of Margaretta Hare Morris and Elizabeth Carrington Morris, sisters and scientists in early America. Margaretta, an entomologist, was famous among her peers and the public for her research on seventeen-year cicadas and other troublesome insects. Elizabeth, a botanist, was a prolific illustrator and a trusted supplier of specimens to the country's leading experts. Together, their discoveries helped fuel the growth and professionalization of science in antebellum America. But these very developments confined women in science to underpaid and underappreciated roles for generations to follow, erasing the Morris sisters' contributions along the way.

Mischievous Creatures is an indelible portrait of two unsung pioneers, one that places women firmly at the center of the birth of American science.

Author: Catherine McNeur
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 10/31/2023
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.41lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.00w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9781541674172

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 08/28/2023
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2023
Booklist 09/15/2023 pg. 6

About the Author
Catherine McNeur is an associate professor of history at Portland State University in Oregon and the author of Taming Manhattan. She is the recipient of several awards, including the American Society for Environmental History's George Perkins Marsh Prize. She lives in Portland, Oregon.