Brilliant Lives: The Clerk Maxwells and the Scottish Enlightenment

James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) was the greatest physicist of the nineteenth century, and although his scientific contribution is now acknowledged to be on a level with those of Newton and Einstein, he has generally not received the acclaim that he deserves. This book goes beyond the life of the man himself to explore five generations of his family and those with whom they were connected, predominantly middleranking lowland Scots who were interlinked through marriage. At the centre are the Clerks of Penicuik and the Maxwells of Middlebie. These dynastic families and their connections produced several astonishing characters whose stories shed light on the development of Scotland.