This Thing of Darkness
Book description
This is an epic novel of sea-faring adventure set in the 19th century charting the life of Robert Fitzroy, the captain of 'The Beagle' and his passenger Charles Darwin. It combines adventrure, emotion, ideas, humour and tragedy as well as illuminating the history of the 19th century. Fitzroy, the Christian…
Why read it?
2 authors picked This Thing of Darkness as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Historical fiction at its very best; it’s so sad that Thompson died shortly after the book's publication. This book follows Charles Darwin circumnavigating the world aboard The Beagle but is told largely from the viewpoint of the Beagle’s captain, Robert FitzRoy.
The science, then, is mainly Darwin’s theories of evolution by natural selection. But it’s also an account of FitzRoy’s meteorology: he was the person entrusted to set up Britain’s Met Office.
This may all seem a bit dry, but I thought it was as exciting as the best thrillers. It’s a big book, 700 pages or more, but I…
From Robert's list on science-based historical fiction novels.
This is a fictionalized biography of Robert Fitzroy, captain of the Beagle, on the epic voyage to the Galapagos with Charles Darwin that resulted in the theory of evolution and changed the world. For me, it’s such a great example of how a book about the sea can be about so many aspects of human life if not all of it!
I think what makes this story so compelling, apart from the many adventures and discoveries, is the fact that Fitzroy was bipolar. This is the thing of darkness in the title, and his battles against mood swings make this…
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