Darwin
A Biography
Will be published approx. on 30. June 2026
Book
Hardback
624 pages
978-0-691-23225-6 (ISBN)
Description
The definitive biography of Charles Darwin-now in one abridged and fully updated volume
Based on the two-volume National Book Critics Circle Award-winning biography hailed as "the definitive Darwin biography" (Newsday) * "a wonderful and well-rounded portrait" (The Washington Post) * and "magnificent" and "irresistible" (The Sunday Times)
Janet Browne's award-winning, two-volume biography of Charles Darwin has been described by many reviewers as the definitive biography of the father of evolution. Now, Browne has skillfully distilled and fully revised the work into a concise yet comprehensive one-volume biography that offers significant new interpretations of Darwin and the scientific and political legacy of his discoveries.
Few men shook the Victorian world like Darwin did, and his story is in many ways that of the nineteenth century. His theory of evolution was born in the age of empire and had its greatest effect in the age of capitalism. It was to change the course of science, culture, and history, and deeply influence literature, art, philosophy, religion, politics, and economics. This magisterial biography follows Darwin from his early life and adventures on HMS Beagle to the tumult of becoming one of the first scientific celebrities with the publication of the Origin of Species. Through personal letters and archives, Browne describes the processes that brought the idea of evolution by natural selection into British society and beyond, especially Darwin's relationship with Alfred Russel Wallace, who simultaneously proposed the same theory, and with the many people who helped and supported Darwin, including his wife Emma Wedgwood. Combining the best elements of social and intellectual biography, Browne places Darwin in cultural context and integrates his ideas with his private life.
Vivid, revealing, and compellingly readable, Darwin is the indispensable biography of a gentleman naturalist who would become one of the most important, influential, and controversial scientists of all time.
Based on the two-volume National Book Critics Circle Award-winning biography hailed as "the definitive Darwin biography" (Newsday) * "a wonderful and well-rounded portrait" (The Washington Post) * and "magnificent" and "irresistible" (The Sunday Times)
Janet Browne's award-winning, two-volume biography of Charles Darwin has been described by many reviewers as the definitive biography of the father of evolution. Now, Browne has skillfully distilled and fully revised the work into a concise yet comprehensive one-volume biography that offers significant new interpretations of Darwin and the scientific and political legacy of his discoveries.
Few men shook the Victorian world like Darwin did, and his story is in many ways that of the nineteenth century. His theory of evolution was born in the age of empire and had its greatest effect in the age of capitalism. It was to change the course of science, culture, and history, and deeply influence literature, art, philosophy, religion, politics, and economics. This magisterial biography follows Darwin from his early life and adventures on HMS Beagle to the tumult of becoming one of the first scientific celebrities with the publication of the Origin of Species. Through personal letters and archives, Browne describes the processes that brought the idea of evolution by natural selection into British society and beyond, especially Darwin's relationship with Alfred Russel Wallace, who simultaneously proposed the same theory, and with the many people who helped and supported Darwin, including his wife Emma Wedgwood. Combining the best elements of social and intellectual biography, Browne places Darwin in cultural context and integrates his ideas with his private life.
Vivid, revealing, and compellingly readable, Darwin is the indispensable biography of a gentleman naturalist who would become one of the most important, influential, and controversial scientists of all time.
Reviews / Votes
"This book, an abridged version of Browne's two longer Darwin biographies, distills the rich, complicated life of the beloved naturalist into 624 pages. . . . Browne paints a portrait of a man who laughed, wept and struggled his way through the Victorian era as much as he informed it. A dedicated reader will surely find getting acquainted with Browne's Darwin an enjoyable endeavor."---Aaron Tremper, Science NewsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
79 b/w illus. 4 maps.
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-691-23225-6 (9780691232256)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Janet Browne, one of the world's leading experts on Charles Darwin, is the Aramont Professor Emerita of the History of Science at Harvard University. Her books include the acclaimed two-volume biography, Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place (both Princeton), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography and the Pfizer Prize from the History of Science Society. She is also the editor of The Quotable Darwin (Princeton) and the author of Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography. She was on the editorial team of the Darwin Correspondence Project at the University of Cambridge, which published Darwin's correspondence in thirty volumes.