The Romantic period in Britain was characterised by significant scientific discoveries, representing both genuine advancements in knowledge and major developments in the conduct of science. The period witnessed the establishment of important scientific institutions, including the Linnean Society (1788), the Royal Institution (1799) and the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1831). Beyond these establishments there existed a quasi-scientific world largely dominated by the figure of Anton Mesmer, who, in the 1760s, had suggested that planetary movements could influence the energy flow of the body, with physiological imbalances corrected by the application of magnets. The period also witnessed the emergence of a fascination with electricity, as it appeared to provide an energy source that, like magnets, relied on negative and positive polarities that suggested that the physical world was vitally suspended between opposing forces. In the instance of chemistry alone there were several important discoveries, including the identification of elements such as hydrogen (by Henry Cavendish in 1766) and oxygen (by Joseph Priestley in 1774), which, in turn, became central to the chemical experiments undertaken by Antoine Lavoisier (who named both of these elements) in the 1780s and 1790s. In Britain, Humphry Davy's experiments with gases in the 1790s resulted in the discovery of an effective anaesthetic, nitrous oxide. Such advances were often the consequence of international collaboration, such as that between Priestley in England and Lavoisier in France during the 1770s, before a difference of opinion concerning Priestley's contribution to the discovery of the properties of oxygen led to their estrangement. The period also witnessed the politicisation of science with Priestley's support for the French Revolution (during which Lavoisier would be guillotined in 1794), resulting in his laboratory being burned down by an anti-Jacobin mob in 1791. Such an incident demonstrates that science had a potentially radical edge ascribed to it by a watchful reactionary culture that regarded scientific advances with some suspicion, not least because science seemed to provide the age with powerful metaphors for radical social change.

Whilst many of the authors discussed here, most notably William Godwin and Mary Shelley, held an amateur interest in science that gave shape to their literary metaphors, others, such as John Keats, had a formal medical training.