Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1 Family background in County Cork; 2 Ireland and Italy; 3 London, the literary scene; 4 The History of Astronomy; 5 A circle of astronomers; 6 A visit to South Africa; 7 The System of the Stars; 8 Social life in scientific circles; 9 Homer, the Herschels and a revised History; 10 The opinion moulder; 11 Popularisation, cryogenics and evolution; 12 Problems in Astrophysics; 13 Women in astronomy in Britain in Agnes Clerke's time; 14 Revised System of the Stars.