Randal Keynes

A beautiful story about a man who was great in more than one way.

Darwin had several children, including his daughter Annie, who died young. This biography traces his writing of The Origin of Species, his quiet life, his devotion to his family, his struggle with the publication of his book. He comes across as a loving man, husband to a devout wife (but not "religious" in the usual sense himself), and loving father. I felt great warmth through the pages. It is rare that a great scientist is show more also a devoted family man. show less

This was a look at the home life of Charles Darwin. It seemed to be that the title promised more than it delivered. The daughter in question, Annie, seemed to be an enigma rather than a beloved special child. There was some interesting stuff about his attitude towards his children and the effect Annie's death had on him, but it didn't seem as tightly tied to his work as the author seemed to think it was. It was an okay book. I'll probably have forgotten I read it in a month, honestly.

Wonderfully detailed history of Charles Darwin's family life through the lens of the tragic death of his much loved daughter.
Read in Samoa May 2002

Curato da un pronipote di Darwin, l'opera propone in chiave narrativa la storia del naturalista e delle vicende familiari. Le pagine scorrevoli e fluide come quelle di un romanzo evidenziano il legame strettissimo tra vita quotidiana e studi scientifico, facendo emergere il ritratto di un uomo dalla spiccata sensibilità e dalla mentalità indubbiamente moderna per la sua epoca. Certamente l'opera privilegia l'uomo a discapito dello scienziato, ma la lettura è avvincente e il libro è show more arricchito da un compendio di citazioni tratte da diari, lettere, foto e disegni tratti dagli archivi privati. show less