The early life of Edmund William Gosse, born in London in September 1849, was dominated by two preoccupations: fundamental Christianity and modern science. Both his father, Philip Henry Gosse and his mother, Emily Gosse, née Bowes, were writers. His father published a wide range of skilfully-illustrated books on natural history including general works on zoology, and specific works about birds, reptiles, fish, molluscs, sea-anemones and corals. He also wrote several religious works, the best known of which was Omphalos: an Attempt to Untie the Geological Knot (1857), a theory aiming to resolve the apparent contradiction between the immense geological ages presupposed by Charles Lyell and the biblical account of creation. His …
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Citation: Rees, Kathy. "Sir Edmund Gosse". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 June 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1817, accessed 21 November 2024.]
