Planning and writing

Agnes Clerke's second book, The System of the Stars, appeared in November 1890, five years after the History. The author described it as ‘a general survey of knowledge regarding our sidereal surroundings’ – by which was meant the entire observable universe, believed to be confined within one single great agglomeration of stars. The first part of the meticulously planned book dealt with the characteristics of the various varieties of stars, the second with star groupings, nebulae, and, finally, with the structure and evolution of the cosmos. An appendix had useful tables, listing stars of different types, stellar motions and masses. The book was as successful as the History and was, moreover, more advanced and more sophisticated, being not merely a record of accepted facts but a critical discussion of their contemporary interpretation.

David Gill, who took an interest in the book from the beginning, remained involved in its progress throughout. As the chapters were written, they were sent to Gill who returned them with his ‘scribblings in margins’. Some chapters involved longer notes and warnings such as ‘You cannot evolve star distances from your inner consciousness – you must be peculiarly careful about facts’. He gave a caution about her uncompromising views on the finite nature of the stellar system.