Back to the books. Next across the finish line for me is This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson.
I first came across this book from reading through the Booker Prize Longlist. I was scrambling to buy this book the second after I learned that it was an historical fiction account of the events surrounding the voyage of the HMS Beagle. Sailing and science - how can you go wrong? Also, what could be more subversive right now than reading a book involving Darwin? I have loved the other books that I have read in this micro genre - books about sailing ships and scientific discovery - such as The Voyage of the Narwhal and the Aubrey/Maturin Series - so I was reasonably certain that the book would be worth the hassle of obtaining it (not currently published in the US). It was.
From what I had read initially, I thought that the book would focus on Darwin, but he didn’t turn up until about 100 pages into it. The book is really the story of two men, Captain Robert Fitzroy, commander of the Beagle, and Charles Darwin, the ship’s naturalist.
Darwin started out as the least promising of the two men. The son of a wealthy politically conservative family, Darwin ended up on the voyage almost by accident. He was the fourth or fifth choice for the journey, and he was studying to be priest at the time that he was called upon to join the expedition - which was his fourth of fifth course of study. In the book he is portrayed as a racist, a pro-colonialist (in the worst sense of the word), a misogynist - a man of his time. Though studying to be a priest, Darwin was not bound by a strict interpretation of the Bible.
Fitzroy was a very promising naval cadet, and the Beagle was his first command. His family was part of the liberal political establishment, and he was well connected. Fitzroy is portrayed as a very straight laced, “by the book” type. He was ahead of his time concerning people of other races and nationalities, and his thoughts on colonialism were is stark contrast to his peers. However, Fitzroy was very religious, and he insists on a strict interpretation of the Bible.
Throughout the loooooong voyage, there’s lots of time for the two men to form a friendship and have philosophical discussions. As the trip progresses, Darwin’s observations of the natural world around him begin to lead him down a path that will ultimately result in his theories of evolution and natural selection. Darwin’s observations lead him to believe that the Earth was not of recent origin, that there was no great flood and an ark with two of each kind of animal, and that species have come into and out of being. The death of his daughter lead him to reject God entirely. Given the two men’s differing world views, friction ensues. By the time they have returned home and have begun working on the accounts of their famous trip, they barely speak to one another unless absolutely necessary.
That you are likely to have heard of only one of these two guys before tells you what you need to know about how their fortunes turned out. Darwin became Darwin. Fitzroy became a Member of Parliament, a Governor of New Zealand, an admiral, and one of the key developers of the early science of meteorology - and he was largely considered a failure, or at best, ignored in each capacity.
These two characters are fascinating. That they were real men who each contributed so much to society makes them all the more so. Their conversations throughout the book provide an excellent mirror for the debates that still swirl around these issues today. However, the reader doesn’t feel like he is being bludgeoned with the author’s viewpoint, because each man is portrayed sympathetically.
This is an outstanding book, and I highly recommend it. It is a hefty book, so govern yourself accordingly. It’s also not published in the US. It is available used from Amazon though, so its not all that hard to pick up if you are inclined to do so.
Interesting aside: the author is apparently very well known in Britain as a writer and producer of hit comedy shows. This book, it should be noted, is not funny.
In another twist, I found out recently that a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer. The very next day I read a review of this book that revealed that Harry Thompson was also recently diagnosed with cancer - effectively ending his book touring before it ever really began - and just after it was announced that he was on the long list for the Booker Prize. The book review that I stumbled across is the least objective and most moving book review that you may ever read. It is written by his ex-girlfriend - she considers the book and comes to grips with their past in the context of his illness. Holy crap. Read the review already.
DJ Cayenne’s Political Soapbox: The Man Behind The Curtain would have you believe that the “jury is still out on evolution”. It’s not. Unless of course you presume that you are on the jury. Scientific American has 15 Answers for Creationist Nonsense. Use them wisely.