Bright paradise : victorian scientific travellers

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Bibliographic Information

Bright paradise : victorian scientific travellers

Peter Raby

Princeton University Press, 1997

Available at  / 3 libraries

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Note

"First published in Great Britain in 1996 by Chatto & Windus Limited"--T.p.verso

Includes bibliographical references (p. [258]-263) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Whether looking for the sources of the Nile, the Niger, or the Amazon, penetrating the Australian outback, or searching for the Northwest Passage, the Victorians were intrepid explorers, zealously expanding the limits of science and human knowledge. In Bright Paradise, Peter Raby describes brave voyages and gives us vivid and unforgettable portraits of the larger-than-life personalities of Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace, and Henry Bates, glorious examples of Victorian energy and confidence. He also explores wider issues such as the growth of knowledge and the spread of the empire. Witty, provocative, and exciting in the breadth of its research, this book charts an important period of scientific advance and transforms it into a compelling narrative.

Table of Contents

Preface and AcknowledgementsIntroduction: To the World's Beginning1Ch. 1The Scientists of the Survey17Ch. 2The Heart of Africa42Ch. 3The Naturalists in the Amazons75Ch. 4From the Amazon to the Andes98Ch. 5The Plant-hunters124Ch. 6Wallace and the King Bird of Paradise148Ch. 7The Savage Ape178Ch. 8Natural Perspectives196Ch. 9A New Mythology215Ch. 10Through the Looking-Glass248Bibliographical Notes258Index265

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