Doctor By Nature - Softcover

Johns, Jeremy Rowett

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0955954134 ISBN 13: 9780955954139

Publisher: Polperro Heritage Press, 2010

Synopsis

Jonathan Couch (1789-1870), surgeon apothecary of Polperro, was one of the pioneering natural historians of his day, paving the way for others such as Darwin and Huxley to follow. His own county of Cornwall was every bit as much a place of discovery as the Galapagos Islands and his reputation is secured by his great works, notably his four-volume "Fishes of the British Islands" which remains a standard work of reference today. But his lively mind also turned to the migration of birds and the habits of bats; he wrote about fossils and flowing plants, sharks and shooting stars, crabs and carpenter bees, porpoises and potato disease. This account of his life and work, drawing on much previously unpublished material, tells the story of a remarkable man who, born in humble circumstances, rose to become one of the leading natural scientists of the 19th century. As a young man, he turned his back on a lucrative medical career in London, choosing instead to serve the people of his native village as their doctor for 60 years. A classical scholar, Methodist preacher, antiquarian and force behind road building projects, he was also a compassionate family man whose three marriages yielded 11 children and more than a fair share of grief.

About this title

About the Author:

Jeremy Rowett Johns is a writer and publisher who, after a career in journalism and broadcasting, established the Polperro Heritage Press in 2000, specialising in non-fiction Cornish history and biography. He is the author of Polperro's Smuggling Story and The Smugglers' Banker, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Polperro Heritage Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0955954134
• ISBN 13: 9780955954139
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200