From Publishers Weekly
Darwin's theories have been under attack since he first published
The Origin of Species in 1859, but this grandly ambitious novel goes a few steps further to intimate that he was a fraud—and a murderer. Told by turns from three perspectives, the story opens in the present on a volcanic outcrop off the coast of Ecuador where Hugh Kellem, a British field researcher, while tracing Darwin's research path, meets Beth Dulcimer, a beautiful scientist rumored to be distantly related to Darwin. A quick shift shows an ambitious young Darwin about to embark on the
Beagle. A little further on, Darwin's youngest daughter, Lizzie, enters via her journal entries, written in the 1870s, decades after Darwin's famous five-year voyage. As the three perspectives unfold, Hugh and Beth find themselves trying to solve the same mystery that intrigued Lizzie 130 years earlier: what happened on the "
nuit de feu," the night that transformed the confident, robust Darwin into a haunted near-invalid for his remaining years? Stilted dialogue, perfunctory romance and expendable subplots make for a rough voyage, but Darnton (
Neanderthal) puts real passion into his historical imaginings and recreations: the revelation of the "true" origin of the theory of evolution is particularly inspired and more than enough to sustain another Darntonian bestseller.
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From Booklist
The mysteries behind Charles Darwin's stunning theory of evolution and natural selection form the crux of Darnton's novel, which blends history and imaginative drama to thought-provoking effect. Darnton tells his story from three perspectives: Charles Darwin as a young man enthralled by nature, growing into manhood and professional ambitions on his voyage aboard the
Beagle to South America, where he first formulated his theories; Lizzie Darwin, the naturalist's youngest daughter, a budding feminist constrained by Victorian society who eventually stumbles across a secret that transforms her relationship with her father; and modern-day scholars Hugh Kellum and Beth Dulcimer who compete--then collaborate--in efforts to discover the genesis of Darwin's theory. Darnton weaves the three viewpoints across time and geography--from Galapagos to Oxford--uncovering long-lost letters and diaries that reveal the controversies provoked by Darwin's theory, as well as the personal and professional tensions that tortured the renowned naturalist and the loyalties that sustained him. Darnton expertly builds suspense as the stresses suffered by the characters--real and imagined, past and present--rise to a climax. Darnton once again displays the thrilling fast pace and intrigue, meticulous research, and strong character development that he demonstrated in
Neanderthal (1996),
The Experiment 1999), and
Mind Catcher (2002).
Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Hardcover
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