Ubs 0 THE DARWIN INDUSTRY H MAURAC. FLANNERY,DEPARTMENT EDITOR 0 0- I 'vejust finished reading CharlesDarwin: The Power these circumstances,it's not surprising that it doesn't Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/68/3/163/53566/4451956.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 of Place, the second volume of Janet Browne's (2002) have the depth of Browne'swork. 0 biography of Darwin, and what strikes me is how There were seven years between the publication of Browne manages to make his story fresh and gripping the two volumes, and the intense researchBrowne did even though the basic facts are well-known, at least to is evident. For example, she gives a thorough descrip- biologists. I had heard raves about the first volume, tion of the reviews of Originof Species(1859) after its CharlesDarwin: Voyaging(1995), but I put off readingit publication.There were over 300 of them, so this is not for a long time, because like its successor, it is well over an insignificant task. Also, she puts these articles into 500 pages long. Did I really want to devote that much the context of Victorianpublication trends. The reviews Ii time and brain power, even to Darwin?After all, I had were numerous because there was obviously great read Adrian Desmond and James Moore's (1991) interest in the book, but also because there had been a Darwin. Admittedly,it was a one-volumebiography, but proliferationof journals at this time due to improve- it did run to more than 700 pages. I learned a great deal ments in paper production and printing processes, from it, more about Darwin the man and how he fit in making them less costly. Another key element Browne with his times, rather than about his science. explains is that it was common for reviewers to be Could Browneadd that much more?Well, it turns anonymous under the assumption that in this way they out she can, and she writes even better than Desmond could be more outspoken. But people in the know usu- 4 and Moore. When I began her first volume, I was ally were able to identify the reviewersthrough writing amazed at how well it read even though every para- style, viewpoint, or inside information.Reviewers often graph is jammed with information.And the second vol- wrote in response to earlier reviews as well as to the ume is just as alluring.The complete biographyis over book in question, and Thomas Huxley wrote three 1,000 pages long, but Browneconvinces the readerthat reviews of Originof Speciesat differentpoints after its there is no padding, that everything here must be said publication,giving him opportunities to rebut the criti- in order to make sense of Darwin'slife and times. One cisms in earlierreviews. Browne's treatment of the post- reason it is worth reading her books, even after publication response to the book is lengthy but fasci- Desmond and Moore's, is that these biographies were nating. Put in the context of Darwin's entire life, it F- written under different circumstances. The latter two makes sense to give it this attention. Though Darwin authors admit that they wrote againsta deadline and in wrote many books both before and after it, this was part for financial reasons (Moore, 1996). Since they obviously his most importantvolume, and the key rea- both had done a great deal of researchin this area for son why there is so much written about Darwin. other writing projects, they considered it feasible to complete this one in little more than a year.The work is Focus on Darwin well-documented and factuallydependable, but under In the history of the science field, there is often talk of the "Darwinindustry," referring to all the work done on various aspects of Darwin'slife, work, and times. It MAURAC. FLANNERYis Professor of Biologyand Directorof the Centerfor Teachingand Learningat St. John'sUniversity, has a slightly derogatoryconnotation, as if the scale of Jamaica,NY 11439; e-mail:[email protected]. Sheearned the research has gotten out of control with people a B.S. in biologyfrom MarymountManhattan College; an crankingout studies on perhapsless and less important M.S.,also in biology,from Boston College; and a Ph.D.in sci- aspects of Darwin's work, because all the really good enceeducation from New York University. Her major interests ideas have already been explored. But Browne's very arein communicatingscience to thenonscientist and in therela- recent book indicates that there is still much to be tionshipbetween biology and art. learned about Darwin.Yes, the basic facts of his life are BIOLOGYTODAY 163 well known. Darwin was famous enough during his life that of means would have been like and how societal influences his correspondencewas preservedand his comments record- affectedhis ideas and his work. ed. However this, in a sense, makes him more difficult to In an earlier column, I described my visit to Down know because there is so much documentation to be exam- House a couple of years ago (Flannery,2004). 1 was remind- ined. Just locating and reading the 300 reviews of Originof ed of it often while reading Browne'sbook. It is much easier Species,for example, is not a trivial task, and in addition, to visualize Darwin's life after seeing where he spent so Darwin created a huge mass of correspondence during his much of it. While the Down House path he called the life. Darwin might have been something of a recluse, sticking Sandwalk is famous as the place where Darwin often close to his home in Down in part because of ill health that strolled to think through ideas and observe nature, Browne plagued him through most of his life, but Browne makes it notes that he and Emma frequentlywalked there together to clear that staying out of the limelight also allowed Darwin to talk out family affairs. This makes the Sandwalk seem a avoid direct contact with the controversyhis book generated. much less solitary place. Browne also mentions another fea- At the same time, Darwin wanted very much not only to ture of Down House that I found impressive: the billiard know what was going on, but also to control the situation. room, right next to Darwin's study. He purchased a billiard He did this through letters and personal contact with more table in 1857. Browne writes: "Itsnew owner threw himself public scientists such as Charles Lyell,Thomas Huxley, and enthusiastically into the construction process. ... One dia- Joseph Hooker in England, and Asa Gray in the United gram that Darwin sent to his son George at school was so Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/68/3/163/53566/4451956.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 States. Browne describes how Darwin encouraged them to detailed he must have spent the best part of the morning on each defend a different part of the argument for evolution, his hands and knees inspecting the work underneath as it depending on their own areas of expertise. Lyellas the lead- proceeded"(p. 65). This definitely classifies as useless infor- ing geologist of the day dealt with the fossil and geological mation, but it makes Darwin seem much more human: He record, Hooker as a researcherat the RoyalBotanic Gardens did other things besides biology, and he cared enough about at Kew dealt with plants, and Huxley-the preeminentcham- his son to want to include him in the fun. This short quota- pion of Darwin's theory-focused on the evolution of apes tion also suggests Browne'swonderful writing style, she gets and humans, a subject Darwin didn't even dare to discuss in the information across in a lively way, as if she were telling Originof Species.These three visited Down House from time the reader a story. to time and saw Darwin on his infrequent trips to London. I could go on, but it is impossible in this short article to Asa Gray's contact was mainly through letters, but Darwin give a true sense of the scholarshipand writing skill that has sent many, soliciting information on how his work was gone into this work, and more than both of these, a judg- received in the United States and making suggestions on ment of what is important enough to dwell on. Browne's how Graymight furtherthe cause. work is a biographyin the classic sense of the term. She does not try to get inside Darwin's head and psychoanalyze him. Darwin also kept in contact with individualsall over the Instead she has used the information she has gleaned from world who could provide him with information and speci- his published and unpublished writings and those of his mens. He was not shy about asking for either and expecting contemporaries,and deals with them in the context of the people to go to some lengths to provide what he needed. largerworld in which he lived. She obviously also discusses These correspondents were not only biologists, but farmers, his science, but this is not a scientificbiography in which sci- horticulturalists,hunters, fishermen, and others with spe- entific questions take center stage. This is not a deficiency cialized knowledge or access to interesting plants and ani- both because her work creates such a rich picture of the mals. This network is somewhat apparent from Darwin's whole man, as a good biography should, but also because, writings where he discusses insights he has garnered from thanks to the "Darwin industry," there are many other others and specimens he has examined. But Browne's places to look for thorough discussions of Darwin's theory.