Bright Paradise [Paperback]

Peter Raby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 1997

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Were Victorian explorers tools of imperialism? Accomplices in conquest and genocide? Well, perhaps, and even probably. The 19th-century English explorers who sought the origins of the Nile and the heights of the Himalayas saw themselves as agents of excellence, paragons of Victorian values, and they were well aware that they opened the door for compatriots who traveled not for knowledge but for wealth. Peter Raby examines the lives and work of the great Victorian peripatetic scientists, defending them from their modern detractors and highlighting the accomplishments of those who climbed mountains in search of tea and crossed jungles in quest of orangutans and cities of gold. Some were hapless, like the snakebit Henry Walter Bates; others were fearless, like Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, the archetype of adventure. All were interesting, and Raby does a fine job of presenting them to us.

From Library Journal

Global in their travels and undaunted by difficulties of climate and disease, a special clique of Victorians sought out, preserved, classified, and shipped back home insects, plants, fishes, and mammals from around the world. English professor Raby (Homerton Coll., Cambridge) focuses on the British men and women who pursued this field work, their publications, and the controversies they created, participated in, or solved. In the early chapters, Raby focuses on specific continents; later chapters examine the use in literature of "scientific travelers" and the issues their work raised. Well written, fascinating, and with wide appeal, this should be in all collections.?Michael Cramer, North Carolina Dept. of EHNR Lib., Raleigh
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691048436
• ISBN-13: 978-0691048437
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent History of an Exciting Time!, June 20, 2000

By 

Randall Barnhart (Earth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bright Paradise (Paperback)

I've always had a weak spot for the history of science and exploration, so when I discovered this book, I went weak in the knees. We all know Darwin and Cook, but what about Russell and Spruce? Here are the true heroes of science from the days when gaps in your knowledge weren't just unfortunate, they could get you killed! Excellently written, with a mountain of information for the scholar, historian and casual reader. Get it now!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright Paradise for Anthropology Students, June 27, 2000

By 

Linda Stockham - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bright Paradise (Paperback)

"Bright Paradise: Victorian Scientific Travellers" gives a refreshing glimpse into the scientific travellers and explorers of The Victorian Age. It covers the well-known (Darwin, Wallace, and Hooker) to those overlooked and nearly forgotten travellers like the botanical painter Marianne North. It is written without any academic pretentiousness and is ideal for introductory courses in cultural anthropology and European History of the 1800s. The only fault with this book is that it is too short.

5.0 out of 5 stars The collectors, September 16, 2005

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bright Paradise (Paperback)

Subtitled "Victorian Scientific Travelers," this book tells the story of a handful of 19th Century British scientists, all naturalists, who, through their researches in the field in many different places around the world, helped Darwin advance his theories of evolution. The accounts are interesting: we get Darwin, of course, but also Sir Joseph Hooker in the Himalayas, Alfred Wallace in the Amazon and on the Malayan Archipelago, Henry Bates also in the Amazon, Richard Spruce in the Amazon and the Andes, Richard Lander and Heinrich Barth in Africa, Mary Kingsley in Africa, and Marianne North in Borneo. All were fearless, resourceful, and dedicated scientists/collectors of plant and animal species from the areas they explored. Thousands of new species of flora and fauna were first identified by these intrepid people. Raby covers a lot of ground by telling about each of these scientists (and others as well) succinctly and directly. He also attempts to explain the times in which these scientists worked as people tried to come to grips with Darwin's implications. A fascinating and important book.