Heart and Science is a novel that explores the tension between emotion and intellect, focusing on the ethical dilemmas of medical experimentation. The story follows young orphan Ovid Vere, a kind-hearted doctor, and his fiancée, Carmina, as they confront the cold rationalism of Ovid's cousin, Doctor Benjulia, a scientist obsessed with his experiments on animals. With themes of compassion versus scientific detachment, Collins critiques the darker side of scientific progress, making this one of his most socially conscious works.

William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was an English novelist and playwright, best known for The Woman in White and The Moonstone. Heart and Science details arguments still valid today against "'the hateful secrets of Vivisection" received generally favorable reviews. Swinburne later called it "a childish and harmless onslaught on scientific research."