The most influential scientific writer of the nineteenth century, Charles Robert Darwin (1809-82) sought a quiet life in rural Kent, where he was nonetheless plagued by gastrointestinal troubles, likely due to a tropical disease but undoubtedly exacerbated by worry. Charles was born to a wealthy Whig family, who had, after a couple of generations of vocal liberalism and Unitarian dissent, settled down into “Anglican respectability” (Desmond and Moore p. 19). Infinitely more interested in natural history than medicine (for which his family originally sent him to the University of Edinburgh) or divinity (for which he read at Cambridge University), Darwin put other pursuits on hold and accepted the post of naturalist and companion to Captain Fitzroy of the HMS Beagle. The voyage was decisive. Darwin spent five years on the Beagle (1831-36), exploring the world and gathering enough material to keep him busy for decades to come. Darwin’s books enjoyed tremendous success. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871), together with its predecessor On the Origin of Species, is considered the keystone of Darwin’s work. Even his first book, which we now know as The Voyage of the Beagle (1839), was a dazzling success.
