Synopsis
Describes the relationship between Charles Darwin, Robert FitzRoy, the commander of the Beagle, and Jemmy Button, a native of Tierra del Fuego who was educated in England and returned to his primitive homeland
Reviews
Commander of the Beagle, Darwin's famous ship, English aristocrat Robert FitzRoy in 1831 returned from the Fuegian islands (off South America's southernmost tip) with human cargo--four naked, grimy, crouching Yahgan Indians. One of them, a boy nicknamed "Jemmy Button"--clothed, "civilized," catechized and taught the rudiments of English--captured the imagination of Victorian England after FitzRoy and young naturalist Darwin returned Jemmy and the other Yahgans to their homeland in 1834. Alas, poor Jemmy, went the public outcry, was left to fend for himself among his own "savage" people after experiencing the uplifting embrace of civilization. Decades later, explorers rediscovered Jemmy; shortly thereafter he was implicated in the massacre of a group of Christian missionaries by a Yahgan band. Jemmy was brought to trial but acquitted; he died in an epidemic in 1864. FitzRoy committed suicide in 1865, a debt-ridden workaholic and failed governor of New Zealand. His friend Darwin went on to win fame with his theory of evolution. A remarkable tour de force told with beautiful restraint and fine irony, this piercing tale of three interlinked destinies illuminates the ways the West perceives and misperceives foreign cultures. Photos.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
History associates the second voyage of the Beagle with the field research that led Charles Darwin to formulate his theory of evolution. This voyage also led to tragedy for Captain Robert FitzRoy and "Jemmy Button," a Tierra del Fuegian Indian who had been "civilized" in England under FitzRoy's guidance and who was later implicated in the massacre of a group of English missionaries. These events serve as a metaphor for author Marks, who believes the Victorian era's social and religious conformity explains Darwin's reluctance to publish his theory and accounts for the storm of anti-evolutionary reaction among scientists and social and religious leaders, including Darwin's one-time mentor FitzRoy. While shedding light on forgotten historical events, this is an inconclusive and somewhat unfocused book. Marks speculates on but cannot ultimately document the motivations of the principal characters, nor does he offer his own conclusions about the significance of the events he recounts. This is for larger, more comprehensive library collections dealing with social and scientific history.-- Laurie Tynan, Montgomery Cty.
Norristown P.L., Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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