Peter J.T. Morris and Peter Reed, Henry Enfield Roscoe: The Campaigning Chemist Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024. Pp. 352. ISBN 978-0-19-084425-7. £32.99 (hardback).

Henry Enfield Roscoe was a British chemist, industrial consultant, Member of Parliament and educational reformer who emerged as a prominent figure in Manchester.The idea of writing a biography of this multifaceted individual occurred independently to historians of chemistry Peter J.T. Morris and Peter Reed, who decided to collaborate.Both scholars recognized that the compelling interplay between Roscoe's scientific career and his involvement in politics and industry made him a rich subject for a scholarly biography.Prior to this book, no comprehensive biography had integrated the diverse dimensions of Roscoe's life -though Roscoe himself did author an autobiography.As advocates of biographical approaches in the history of science have noted, the life of an individual can serve as a lens through which to explore a broader historical period and its scientific, cultural and political contexts.Roscoe's life is examined within the framework of the Victorian era, with particular attention to his connections with Germany.As the authors observe, 'Roscoe provides an excellent case study for the relationship between academic science and parliamentary politics' (p.19), and his career serves as 'the ideal medium for exploring the links between chemistry, industry, and politics in the second half of the nineteenth century' (p.xi).In their introduction, Morris and Reed present Roscoe as a man of many identities, each reflecting a distinct facet of his life and legacy.He is Roscoe the Lancastrian, rooted in the north-west of England through his family heritage; Roscoe the Germanophile, shaped by his education in Heidelberg and his close scientific collaboration with Robert Bunsen; and Roscoe the Mancunian, a central figure in Manchester's industrial and educational development.They also portray him as Roscoe the University Builder, instrumental in securing the future of Owens College, forging strong ties between academia and industry, and playing a leading role in the creation of Victoria University as a federal institution.As Roscoe the Chemical Educator, he transformed Owens College into a major centre for academic chemistry in Britain, offering an alternative to the Oxbridge model by integrating science with industrial and commercial applications.Roscoe's reformist spirit is evident in his role as an educational reformer, in which he championed applied chemistry in the curriculum and helped establish a civic, non-Anglican university.As an industrial consultant, he advised on issues such as air pollution regulation and served as director of the Aluminium Company.In politics, he was Roscoe the Progressive MP, advocating radical Liberalism in Manchester during the 1880s.Finally, as Roscoe the