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20. Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839)

  • Felix Sprang
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Handbook of British Travel Writing
This chapter is in the book Handbook of British Travel Writing

Abstract

Darwin’s travel account The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) is usually seen as proof of the maturation of a naturalist. Darwin was twenty-two when the Beagle set sail, and the Voyage, based on his journal entries and the notes that he took during the five-year expedition, reflects a mind keen to combine natural history, ethnographic observations and geology to arrive at a deeper understanding of the places he explored. The voyage itself was undoubtedly a formative experience of discovery, encounter and exploration. But the process of writing the travel account, which demanded a systematic approach to the vast material collected, was equally important as it resulted in laying the foundation of his theory of evolution in his Origin of Species (1859). At the same time, the Voyage is a travel account that fans colonialist and imperialist perspectives. Viewed alongside other textual evidence from the voyage, it has highlighted the production of knowledge as located at the fulcrum of science and self-investigation. From the perspective of literary history, finally, Darwin’s Voyage contributes to the emergence of a prose style centred on realist accounts of nature which marginalises the sublime and the picturesque.

Abstract

Darwin’s travel account The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) is usually seen as proof of the maturation of a naturalist. Darwin was twenty-two when the Beagle set sail, and the Voyage, based on his journal entries and the notes that he took during the five-year expedition, reflects a mind keen to combine natural history, ethnographic observations and geology to arrive at a deeper understanding of the places he explored. The voyage itself was undoubtedly a formative experience of discovery, encounter and exploration. But the process of writing the travel account, which demanded a systematic approach to the vast material collected, was equally important as it resulted in laying the foundation of his theory of evolution in his Origin of Species (1859). At the same time, the Voyage is a travel account that fans colonialist and imperialist perspectives. Viewed alongside other textual evidence from the voyage, it has highlighted the production of knowledge as located at the fulcrum of science and self-investigation. From the perspective of literary history, finally, Darwin’s Voyage contributes to the emergence of a prose style centred on realist accounts of nature which marginalises the sublime and the picturesque.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. 0. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1. Periods of Travel Writing 11
  7. 2. Discourses of Travel Writing 31
  8. 3. Gender 55
  9. 4. Travel Writing and Translation 79
  10. 5. Practices and Purposes 95
  11. 6. Intertextual Travel Writing 113
  12. 7. The Market for Travel Writing 125
  13. Part II: Close Readings
  14. 8. Walter Ralegh, The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana (1596) 145
  15. 9. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Tour Thro’ The Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727) 161
  16. 10. Samuel Johnson, A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735) 181
  17. 11. Thomas Pennant, Selected Works (1754–1804) 199
  18. 12. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1763) 213
  19. 13. James Boswell, Journals and Letters from his Grand Tour (1764–1765) 231
  20. 14. James Cook and George Forster, Journals and Travel Reports from Their “Voyage Round the World” (1777) 247
  21. 15. Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) 267
  22. 16. Mariana Starke, Letters from Italy (1800) 297
  23. 17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824) 313
  24. 18. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818) 335
  25. 19. Anna Jameson, Selected Works (1826–1859) 357
  26. 20. Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) 373
  27. 21. Isabella Bird, Selected Works (1856–1899) 397
  28. 22. Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899) 411
  29. 23. Vita Sackville-West, Selected Works (1926, 1928) 433
  30. 24. Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana (1937) 449
  31. 25. Freya Stark, Selected Works (1938–1988) 467
  32. 26. W. H. Auden, Journey to a War (1939) 485
  33. 27. V. S. Naipaul, Selected Works (1962–1998) 501
  34. 28. Dervla Murphy, Selected Works (1965–2015) 515
  35. 29. William Dalrymple, Selected Works (1989–1997) 535
  36. 30. Nicholas Crane, Two Degrees West (1999) and Great British Journeys (2007) 555
  37. 31. Robert Macfarlane, The Wild Places (2007) 575
  38. Index of Names and Works 595
  39. Index of Subjects and Places 609
  40. List of Contributors 617
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110498974-021

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. 0. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1. Periods of Travel Writing 11
  7. 2. Discourses of Travel Writing 31
  8. 3. Gender 55
  9. 4. Travel Writing and Translation 79
  10. 5. Practices and Purposes 95
  11. 6. Intertextual Travel Writing 113
  12. 7. The Market for Travel Writing 125
  13. Part II: Close Readings
  14. 8. Walter Ralegh, The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana (1596) 145
  15. 9. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Tour Thro’ The Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727) 161
  16. 10. Samuel Johnson, A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735) 181
  17. 11. Thomas Pennant, Selected Works (1754–1804) 199
  18. 12. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1763) 213
  19. 13. James Boswell, Journals and Letters from his Grand Tour (1764–1765) 231
  20. 14. James Cook and George Forster, Journals and Travel Reports from Their “Voyage Round the World” (1777) 247
  21. 15. Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) 267
  22. 16. Mariana Starke, Letters from Italy (1800) 297
  23. 17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824) 313
  24. 18. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818) 335
  25. 19. Anna Jameson, Selected Works (1826–1859) 357
  26. 20. Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) 373
  27. 21. Isabella Bird, Selected Works (1856–1899) 397
  28. 22. Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899) 411
  29. 23. Vita Sackville-West, Selected Works (1926, 1928) 433
  30. 24. Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana (1937) 449
  31. 25. Freya Stark, Selected Works (1938–1988) 467
  32. 26. W. H. Auden, Journey to a War (1939) 485
  33. 27. V. S. Naipaul, Selected Works (1962–1998) 501
  34. 28. Dervla Murphy, Selected Works (1965–2015) 515
  35. 29. William Dalrymple, Selected Works (1989–1997) 535
  36. 30. Nicholas Crane, Two Degrees West (1999) and Great British Journeys (2007) 555
  37. 31. Robert Macfarlane, The Wild Places (2007) 575
  38. Index of Names and Works 595
  39. Index of Subjects and Places 609
  40. List of Contributors 617
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