Charles Darwin: Victorian Mythmaker

Wilson, A. N. - RARE! SIGNED FIRST EDITION

ISBN 10: 0062433490 / ISBN 13: 9780062433497

Published by HarperCollins, 2017

About this Item

A rare signature - some writers will sign anything, but A. N. Wilson is known as a 'mean signer'. This American first edition hardback may well be the only copy signed by the author for all I know. The book is in perfect condition, as is the fine jacket. There is one flaw; it has one of those nasty remainder marks on the text block. I do wish that Americans would not do this. Anyway, apart from being a rare signed first this is also a brilliant biography of Darwin, and the big plus is it is in a fabulous American binding, with beautiful full colour illustrations. Wilson is one of the most consistently fine writers. This is a perfect example of how to write a fresh and relevant work on a familiar subject.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1687350264057

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Charles Darwin: Victorian Mythmaker
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062433490
• ISBN 13: 9780062433497
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: As New
• Signed: Signed by Author

About this title

Synopsis

A radical reappraisal of Charles Darwin from the bestselling author of Victoria: A Life.

With the publication of On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin—hailed as the man who "discovered evolution"—was propelled into the pantheon of great scientific thinkers, alongside Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton. Eminent writer A. N. Wilson challenges this long-held assumption. Contextualizing Darwin and his ideas, he offers a groundbreaking critical look at this revered figure in modern science.

In this beautifully written, deeply erudite portrait, Wilson argues that Darwin was not an original scientific thinker, but a ruthless and determined self-promoter who did not credit the many great sages whose ideas he advanced in his book. Furthermore, Wilson contends that religion and Darwinism have much more in common than it would seem, for the acceptance of Darwin's theory involves a pretty significant leap of faith.

Armed with an extraordinary breadth of knowledge, Wilson explores how Darwin and his theory were very much a product of their place and time. The "Survival of the Fittest" was really the Survival of Middle Class families like the Darwins—members of a relatively new economic strata who benefited from the rising Industrial Revolution at the expense of the working classes. Following Darwin’s theory, the wretched state of the poor was an outcome of nature, not the greed and neglect of the moneyed classes. In a paradigm-shifting conclusion, Wilson suggests that it remains to be seen, as this class dies out, whether the Darwinian idea will survive, or whether it, like other Victorian fads, will become a footnote in our intellectual history.

Brilliant, daring, and ambitious, Charles Darwin explores this legendary man as never before, and challenges us to reconsider our understanding of both Darwin and modern science itself.

About the Author

A. N. Wilson grew up in Staffordshire, England, and was educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is a prolific and award-winning biographer and celebrated novelist. He lives in North London.