Robert Knox

A gifted yet controversial anatomical teacher, Robert Knox (1791–1862) published this remarkable study in 1852. It explores the influence of anatomy on evolutionary theories and fine art respectively. The first part of the work discusses the lives and scientific insights of the eminent French naturalists Georges Cuvier (1769–1832) and Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844). Rejecting the explanations offered by natural theology, Knox maintains that descriptive anatomy can give answers to questions surrounding the origin and development of life in the natural world. The latter part of the book is concerned with the relation that anatomy bears to fine art, specifically the painting and sculpture of the Italian Renaissance. Entering the debate about the importance of anatomical knowledge in art, Knox focuses on 'the immortal trio' of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Henry Lonsdale's sympathetic biography of Knox has also been reissued in this series.

This 1817 book by 'A. M. Philalethes' traces the history of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from the classical period to 1815, providing details of the religion, laws and manners of the people. An appendix contains an account, originally published in 1681, by Robert Knox (1641–1720) of his nearly twenty-year captivity on the island. The identity of the pseudonymous 'Philalethes' is not certain: he may have been Robert Fellowes (1770–1847), who, however, never visited Ceylon, or the Revd G. Bissett, who did. The book, which includes topographical notes and a collection of moral maxims and ancient proverbs, begins with classical accounts of the Island of Ceylon by Ptolemy, among others, and moves from this 'imperfect acquaintance with this remote region' to Knox's 'lively picture of the state of the country and manners of the people' which, according to 'Philalethes', was among the most important possessions of Great Britain.