In late-Victorian popular fiction, science is often represented in an unorthodox way, for example in the figure of mad scientists, such as Dr Jekyll. At the same time, there was a strong belief in the power of science as a tool for progress. The so-called scientific naturalists were strong and successful advocates of the objectivity and truthfulness of scientific work and represented scientists as virtuous model citizens. LAURA HABBE has examined the disparity between their representation of science and its depiction in examples of popular fiction. In this video she explains two strategies she identified and which these texts employ to subvert the authority of the scientific naturalists. Her study of late-Victorian popular culture suggests that appropriate science communication and the public understanding of science have always been crucial elements of successful scientific research.