Product Description

Charles Darwin lost his mother at the age of eight, repressed all memory of her, and poured his passion into newt collecting and shooting. As a young man, his five year voyage on H.M.S. Beagle changed his life. Afterwards, working privately on groundbreaking theories about the development of species, he published his geological findings. He also made a nervous proposal to his cousin Emma. They had a very happy marriage but both were painfully aware of the gulf between her devout Christian faith and his increasing religious doubt. The death of three of their ten children accentuated this gulf. For Darwin, death and extinction were nature's way of developing new species: the survival of the fittest. For Emma, death was a prelude to the afterlife. In these extraordinary poems, using multiple viewpoints - even, at one point, the orangutang at London Zoo - Ruth Padel follows the development of Darwin's thought, the drama of the discovery of evolution, and fluctuating emotions in Darwin the husband, the naturalist and the tender father, in a powerful tribute to her famous forbear.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14378 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Review
`these poems are a subtle, revealing accompaniment to any biography of the man' -- Vogue

Review
`a deft act of collaboration between the living and the dead, one melding easily with the other'.

Review
`a daring and wholly original book... Ruth Padel has done her great-great-grandfather proud'.

Customer Reviews

An intimate family sketch of Darwin's ideas and emotions
Emma Darwin can rest happy. She and Charles indeed "belong to each other for eternity" (her worried note to him about salvation - he kept it until the day he died), through this touching tribute from their great-great grand-daughter, Ruth Padel. One can imagine the interplay of their emotions reading it together - delight in memories of their ten children, but muscles contracting in sorrow at the three who died young. She will remember with relief the pains of childbirth and Charles be gladly free of his unwelcome daily companion since South America, Chagas disease.

This "life in poems" is a strange but compelling hybrid genre: if it were a segmented worm with iridescent wings it would undoubtedly be named as a new species. Some of the language is that of a writer already known for her naturalist' s eye and poet's ear, used here to recreate the effect on Darwin of the tropical rainforest:
"Leaves of all textures that a leaf
could be: palm, fluff, prickle, matte and plume;
bobbled; shaggy plush. A thousand shades
of ochre, silver, emerald, smoky brass.
He's walking into every dream he's ever seen."

Yet many of the poems are partially "found" ones, full of phrases straight from Darwin or others. A light but reassuring narrative thread is provided by notes running down the side of many poems, as well as by evocative titles: "A Quarrel in Bahia Harbour" shows Darwin making his opposition to slavery clear to Captain Fitzroy; "A Spot of Malaria in the Moluccas" leads into the fateful letter showing Darwin that Alfred Russel Wallace had also realised the mechanism by which species could change. It is no surprise that Charles' and Emma's genes should have helped shape such a well-crafted and affectionate bicentennial portrait. I read it at one sitting.

Darwinian Delight
The Darwins are a talented bunch. When not engaged in the production of distinguished scientists, they do a not half bad job of turning out gifted wordsmiths. At the last count there were at least four Darwinian poets*, whilst, in the prose section, the great Charles penned the odd best seller. No surprise, then, that Ruth Padel, a direct descendent of Charles Darwin, has produced a collection of new poems themed around the life of her famous forebear.

"Darwin - A Life in Poems" aims explore the emotional dimension of Darwin's life. It begins with his boyhood and the start of his passion for collecting (vividly imagined in "The Miser") and follows him through his travels, family life and intellectual journey.

A line from "Giant Bugs of the Pampas", which describes the great naturalist being infected with the bacteria that probably caused his lifelong bouts of illness, gives a feel for the crispness of Padel's poetry. The bacteria (a life form unknown to Darwin) are, she says

"... life-forms occult as Kabbalah or that other secret scripture DNA: ..."

Anyone who has spent this anniversary year immersing themselves in all things Darwinian should add "Darwin - A Life in Poems" to their reading list. This is a fascinating and eminently readable collection which should appeal to a wide audience, including people who don't normally indulge in modern poetry.


* Other Darwin family poets are:
- Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802)
- Frances Cornford (1886-1960)
- John Cornford (1915-1936)

Darwin understood
This wonderful book is a biographical use of poetry to move through significant moments and experiences in the life of our greatest scientist, with empathy for his situation. It is not a set of lyric poems, but rather an attempt to capture Darwin's voice. Whatever you think of Darwin, you will find this account first impressive, and finally deeply moving.