MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Kavanagh (1849)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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In the fourth chapter of this novel by the famous poet, the school teacher of the title tries to convince his skeptical wife that mathematics can be poetic by reading to her from Lilavati.

(This one chapter was published separately as Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, 3 (1855), pages 257—62, and so I will consider it both as a short story and as an excerpt from a novel.)

More information about this work can be found at books.google.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to Kavanagh
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Geometry in the South Pacific by Sylvia Warner
  2. Maths on a Plane by P T
  3. The Old Mathematician by Dinah Maria Muloch
  4. The Franklin's Tale (in The Canterbury Tales) by Geoffrey Chaucer
  5. The Young Mathematician by Anonymous
  6. The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allan Poe
  7. The Manuscript Found in Saragossa [Manuscrit trouve a Saragosse] by Jan Potocki
  8. Strange Attractors by Rebecca Goldstein
  9. An Old Arithmetician by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
  10. Micromegas by François Marie Arouet de Voltaire
Ratings for Kavanagh:
RatingsHave you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.
Mathematical Content:
4/5 (1 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
2/5 (1 votes)
..

Categories:
Genre
MotifRomance, Math Education,
Topic
MediumNovels, Short Stories, Available Free Online,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)