ABSTRACT
The Scottish mineralogist Sir George Steuart Mackenzie was one of the earliest British converts to phrenology. In illustrations of Phrenology, which is dedicated to Spurzheim, Mackenzie set out to demonstrate the accuracy of phrenology as a means of reading personality. Mackenzie does not provide his own phrenological analysis, but invokes the aid of a ‘skilful phrenologist’ and ‘friend’, who has been identified as his mentor Combe. He tries to confirm the points in the analysis with a paragraph from an unnamed ‘Critical Journal’, which has been identified as an extract from a review of Fleetwood in the Edinburgh Review. This chapter provides an extract that presents Godwin as a successful public figure in the middle of his career. The portrait of this ‘Celebrated Literary Character’ was engraved by William Home Lizars, known for the anatomical precision of his work, and it shows the strong, imperturbable face of a man full of intellectual energy.
