This Thing Of Darkness

A brilliant, action-packed and gripping novel of Charles Darwin's voyage on the Beagle - longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In 1831 Charles Darwin set off in HMS Beagle under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy on a voyage that would change the world. Brilliant young naval officer Robert FitzRoy is given the captaincy of HMS Beagle, surveying the wilds of Tierra del Fuego. He's a man of tradition and principle, with a firm belief in the sanctity of the individual in a world created by God. On board, is a passenger, Charles Darwin - a young trainee cleric, and amateur geologist. This is the story of a deep friendship between two men, and the twin obsessions that tear them apart, leading one to triumph, and the other to disaster.