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Mr. Darwin's Shooter

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
A man of faith faces a personal reckoning after working aboard HMS Beagle in this “gripping” historical novel (The Wall Street Journal).
 
Heading off to sea at the age of thirteen, Syms Covington became Charles Darwin’s manservant for seven years, sailing on the historic voyage of the Beagle. Their relationship was an odd one, but it furnished exactly what Darwin needed in order to complete his groundbreaking work, as Covington shot and collected hundreds of specimens which became fodder for The Origin of Species.
 
Now, as Darwin’s groundbreaking book is about to be published, Covington has retired to Australia in poor health—and in a state of moral crisis over his role in undermining the Christian faith that has supported him during his life. As the novel progresses, he looks back on his upbringing in Bedford, England; his coming of age and wholehearted enjoyment of the sensual pleasures available to young sailors; and his unceremonious dismissal by Darwin once the research was complete.
 
“A captivating seafarer’s tale rich in period detail and insight into relations among men,” Mr. Darwin’s Shooter paints a poignant and unforgettable picture of one man forging, then struggling to maintain his faith in an era when it is constantly under attack—from science, from the daily brutality of life during colonial expansion, and from one’s own cold, inexorable logic (Publishers Weekly).
 
“A spectacular tale of 19th-century exploration and the conflict between science and religion, all based on Charles Darwin’s famous voyage of discovery . . . Brilliant.” —Kirkus Reviews
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 4, 1999
      Charles Darwin dramatically changed the course of human history, but the drama of his life story pales next to this vividly imagined rendering of big-hearted Syms Covington, the colorful sailor, hunter, taxidermist and manservant who spent seven years at Darwin's side collecting the specimens on which the theory of evolution was based. Covington takes to the sea as a 12-year-old in 1828, leaving his home in Bedford, England, under the wing of Christian evangelist John Phipps, who assembles a group of devout boys to sign aboard the survey ship South Sea Castle, bound for South America. Several years later, now an experienced sailor aboard HMS Beagle, ambitious Covington wangles his way into the service of Darwin. Much later, a grizzled, nearly deaf, middle-aged Covington has settled and raised a family in rural Australia, where he awaits the publication of On the Origin of Species, troubled by his role in perhaps subverting the faith that has served him so well through all his adventures. McDonald (1915; Slipstream; Shearer's Motel) fashions a captivating seafarer's tale rich in period detail and insight into relations among men. While the real, historical Covington may have been lost in the margins, McDonald's vigorous incarnation will be difficult to forget.

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  • English

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