BRIGHT PARADISE - Softcover

Raby, Peter

  • 4.06 out of 5 stars
    33 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780712673921: BRIGHT PARADISE
Softcover
ISBN 10: 071267392X ISBN 13: 9780712673921
Publisher: Random House UK, 1997

Synopsis

'A fabulously rich, anecdotal and gripping account of those men and women who ventured out from Britain into the swamps and jungles of the tropics in search, knowingly or not, of the missing link. Through their stoical-sometimes crack-brained-voyages, the shape of the world, geographically and biologically, was elucidated. Never have more significant journeys been made. . . . Enthusiastic, informed and racy, this is one of the most invigorating accounts of the exploits of people from an age whose intrepidity is staggering. ' 'Peter Raby's book follows a disparate crew of botanists, scientists and collectors, who tried to order the earthly paradise which unfolded around them. Entrepreneurs they may have been - many were dependent on selling their specimens to finance their trips-but they were also scrupulous and sensitive observers. . . . Raby finds some shimmering, personalities. . . . His book is excellent. ' DAILY TELEGRAPH

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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.

About the Author

Peter Raby is the head of the English and Drama Department at Homerton College, Cambridge. He is the author of a highly acclaimed biography of Samuel Butler.

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Publisher
Random House UK
Publication date
1997
Language
English
ISBN 10 
071267392X
ISBN 13 
9780712673921
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
288
Rating
  • 4.06 out of 5 stars
    33 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780691048437: Bright Paradise: Victorian Scientific Travellers

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0691048436 ISBN 13:  9780691048437
Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1997
Softcover