Customer Reviews

HMS Beagle (Voyages S.)

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Many are familiar with the role of HMS Beagle, the 'coffin' brig that carried Charles Darwin on his momentous journey. This is the story of the HMS Beagle herself.

I first picked this book up after having read 'This Thing of Darkness'. I wanted to read more about the ship that carried Robert FitzRoy and Charles Darwin, and to gain some sense of the character of the ship that was used for three significant surveying voyages during the early part of the 19th century.

First, some figures: HMS Beagle was 90 feet 4 inches from stem to sternpost, with a maximum breadth of 24 feet 6 inches. About 65 officers, men and boys lived on this ship with sufficient stores and equipment for about 3 months.

This book is full of facts, figures and history. I marvelled at the precision of the chronometers that Captain FitzRoy carried on the second journey: three still worked when the Beagle arrived back at the Greenwich Observatory. And when the calculations were completed, they erred from making a perfect circle of longitude by only thirty-three seconds. This was in 1836!

I recommend this book to all interested in maritime journeys of discovery and associated science and adventure during the 19th century. The author clearly enjoyed his own voyage of discovery in bringing the history of the Beagle to light. Some of the facts, figures and diagrams may seem dry but I found I could not begin to appreciate the endeavours of the ship and crew without them.

The work undertaken by Robert FitzRoy, Charles Darwin and others is reasonably well known. Hopefully this book will invite people to wonder at the role of the little ship that carried them all.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith