ABSTRACT
In his contribution to Faraday Rediscovered: Essays on the Life and Work of Michael Faraday, 1791–1867, David Knight reflected on the relationship between Faraday and his mentor Humphry Davy. Although both men were from humble backgrounds, David noted their very different attitudes to and involvement in contemporary polite society. Faraday frequently came across members of the aristocracy at the Royal Institution but it is doubtful whether he had previously encountered a female aristocrat who made such personal demands. She was the very antithesis of the pious Hausfrau to whom he was married and the other female members both of his family and of the Sandemanian church. Faraday would therefore have dismissed as unacceptable Lovelace’s self-appointed role as ‘High-Priestess’. In pursuing science he had direct access to the Book of Nature and his reading of it was not dependent on the mediation of any priest or priestess.
