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Book Reviews
The Voyage of the Beagle
by Charles Darwin; eds. Janet Browne and Michael Neve
Penguin Classics, 1989
Subtitled "Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches", this edition documents most, but not all, of Charles Darwin's recollections of his famous voyages in the 1830's aboard the Beagle. The observations and natural history collections he made during this period formed the basis of much of his later work, including his famous "On The Origin of Species", and were acknowledged by Darwin himself (and many of his historians and biographers) as being a life-changing experience.
Before embarking on reading this book, the reader should be aware that this is not a detailed account of Darwin's natural history observations while aboard the Beagle; these were published separately. Rather, this is a day-to-day journal of the voyage and of some of his key observations. This particular edition is not complete; although the body text of the book still runs to nearly 300 pages, much has been omitted. Readers wanting the comprehensive account will need to go elsewhere, perhaps to an edition of Captain FitzRoy's account of the voyage, one volume of which was originally comprised of Darwin's account in its entirety. Various parts that are referred to in Darwin's extensive table of contents have been omitted, including some passages related to the ethnography of the South American civilizations that he visited. This seems a shame, since the reader is teased by the table of contents about potentially fascinating material that is not available in this edition. Nevertheless, with the body text, Darwin's original preface, introduction by the editors, appendices comprised of FitzRoy's notes, and the original Admiralty sailing orders for the Beagle, this still amounts to a hefty read. These latter parts of the book are in many ways more interesting than the main text, and provide a great deal of context.
This said, the book is still not for the general reader. Fans of Darwin, of travelogues of this era, or of South America and the South Pacific in general, may find this book entertaining. Those looking for an insight into Darwin himself would probably do better with a good biography. Notably, the section on the Galapagos Islands, which one might expect to contain the most famous of Darwin's observations, is disappointingly short and does not discuss the very interesting evolutionary theories that later arose from it. Indeed, the introduction points out that Darwin totally missed that different species of tortoise live on the various islands, and the famous observations about beak morphology in different finches, while discussed briefly here, were not part of Darwin's initial observations. Those observations, and the theories surrounding them, were developed much later, although some have crept back into this book, as it was written after the voyage ocurred. There is disappointingly little discussion of natural selection or evolution to be found anywhere in the book.
It is interesting that a large proportion of Darwin's writing is actually about geology, rather than natural history. Unfortunately, his extensive geological observations are neither detailed enough for the specialist, nor interesting enough for the general reader, and rapidly become somewhat tiring. Darwin's theories about the movement and elevation of the lands that he sees, in particular based on geological and fossil record information in the Andes, seem somewhat unsubstantiated and are frequently reiterated throughout the first half or so of the book. This rather dry discussion, while perhaps interesting in Darwin's time, does not make for entertaining reading today, when so much more is known about tectonic processes.
Also interesting is the amount of time Darwin spent on dry land. Apparently, he suffered greatly from seasickness, and spent many long, arduous and often extremely dangerous periods on land, particularly in South America. Other parts of the voyage are treated in much less detail; he is enthusiastic about Tahiti, rude about New Zealand and dismissive of many other destinations in the Pacific. All of this detracts somewhat from what might have been a fascinating journal of journeys through lands that were, at the time, poorly understood and mapped by European explorers.
Another aspect that makes this work somewhat more difficult to enjoy is that it is written in Victorian English. Although in some cases the vocabulary is quaint, its usage does mean that names of some plants and animals are difficult to understand. The classification of many of the plants, animals and fossils Darwin collected has also changed over time, rendering comparisons with current knowledge of these organisms difficult. What is clear, however, is Darwin's meticulous record-keeping and interaction with the other collectors (including FitzRoy himself) on the Beagle. Darwin followed a Victorian collector ethic, meaning that he shot many animals and birds, with no regard to modern sentiments of conservation. Indeed, on one island off the coast of Chile, he observes a very rare species of fox, notes that it is very tame, then summarily kills it with a blow from his geological hammer for preservation and display in England. Other contemporary views tend to grate on the modern reader, in particular the Colonial English view of "savages" and the habits of the Argentinian gaucho herdsmen. Darwin's writing makes it clear that these peoples are viewed as uncivilized, and lesser than the English gentlemen who are observing them.
In the end, this is an interesting historical document, but not an easy read. For enthusiasts only.
Review by rwintle
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