Naturalists in historical fiction

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Naturalists in historical fiction

1Bowerbirds-Library
feb. 11, 2011, 2:31 pm

Hello,

I am looking for characters in fiction (historical or otherwise) who are naturalists/ keen on nature etc. For example Stephen Maturin in the Patrick O'Brien novels.

many thanks

2varielle
feb. 11, 2011, 3:08 pm

I tried to do a tag mash for you, but couldn't really come up with anything. Seems it's mostly non-fiction. I'll be interested in what you come up with. I'll put on my thinking cap.

3k00kaburra
feb. 11, 2011, 3:28 pm

Lady of the Butterflies was a fictional story about Eleanor Glanville, who collected butterflies in the 17th century.

4clif_hiker
feb. 11, 2011, 4:06 pm

The Coral Thief by Rebecca Stott comes to mind...

5lorax
feb. 11, 2011, 4:12 pm

1> I was just in the middle of writing to say that Stephen Maturin fits your bill perfectly, then I saw the second sentence of your post. Oops!

(Love the username.)

6andejons
Editat: feb. 12, 2011, 1:57 am

Try an unabridged 20000 miles under the sea. You'll never want to see a naturalist character again...

The mysterious island has one as well. Less tiresome there, I believe, but I'm not sure if my book is abridged or not, so I wouldn't swear on it.

718rabbit
feb. 11, 2011, 8:50 pm

{{Angels and Insects}} by A.S. Byatt has a very interesting naturalist

8fyrefly98
feb. 11, 2011, 10:30 pm

Prodigal Summer has a main character who's a wildlife ecologist and de facto naturalist. Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett is a short story collection but has several characters who would fit the bill. Fluke and The Darwin Conspiracy both have biologist main characters.

The "biology, fiction" tagmash isn't exactly what you're after - there's lots of stuff there that won't be relevant - but it's on the right track:
http://www.librarything.com/tag/biology%2C+fiction

9clif_hiker
feb. 12, 2011, 11:00 am

there are of course whole series of books by Nevada Barr & Jessica Speart that feature biologists, park rangers etc...

10mamalaz
feb. 12, 2011, 11:09 am

The Origin by Irving Stone is a biographical novel about Charles Darwin. It features his voyage on the Beagle and most of his life defending his views. Great read.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier is about two women fossil hunters in 19th century England.

11aulsmith
feb. 12, 2011, 12:02 pm

12nhlsecord
feb. 12, 2011, 12:52 pm

I was also going to mention Girl of the Limberlost as well as most other books written by Gene Stratton Porter. They aren't exactly historical fiction, but they are old, and her main characters usually are collectors of butterflies, moths and plants. Nature plays a large part in her stories.

13casaloma
Editat: oct. 29, 2020, 9:14 am

Aquest missatge ha estat suprimit pel seu autor.

14Tess_W
feb. 12, 2011, 10:32 pm

The Far Side of the World by Patrick O'Brian has a first mate obsessed with all things birds.

Being Dead by Jim Crace is both a murder mystery and a bit of CSI, using insects, crabs, snails, etc. to help solve the mystery

The Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrington focuses not on Jim Bowie or the "gang", but on botantist Edmund------ (can't remember his last name).

15MarysGirl
feb. 13, 2011, 1:15 pm

I know you said fiction, but The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean reads almost novel-like. It follows a modern orchid thief, but interweaves lots of history about the 18/19 C naturalists and plant hunters that traveled into jungles and dangerous foreign lands to find the newest specimens.

16kdcdavis
feb. 13, 2011, 6:50 pm

Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, by Philippa Gregory, should be exactly what you're looking for! The main character in the first book is the King's gardener in 17th century England, and in the second book his son travels to America to look for new plants. Lots of interesting information about plants and their origins, great characters, and good writing.

17thorold
feb. 14, 2011, 11:34 am

Daniel Kehlmann's Measuring the world should be worth a look - half the story is about Alexander von Humboldt in South America.

I don't know if palaeontology counts - if it does, there's always The French lieutenant's woman with lots of fossil-collecting at Lyme Regis.

18armandine2
feb. 19, 2011, 2:36 pm

Aquest missatge ha estat suprimit pel seu autor.

19Bowerbirds-Library
ag. 17, 2011, 2:32 am

Dear All,

That is absolutely brilliant! many many thanks for all the time and trouble that you have all taken to find me so many examples.

I am sorry for the delay in replying - computer trouble! a virus caused my computer to be wiped back to factory settings and I lost my original list of naturalists in fiction. However, I remain undaunted and will continue...maybe with a goose feather quill and a piece of parchment?

best wishes,

Bigpinkchimp (Ruth)

20keywestnan
Editat: ag. 19, 2011, 2:51 pm

Aquest missatge ha estat suprimit pel seu autor.

21keywestnan
ag. 19, 2011, 2:52 pm

I second the recommendation of Remarkable Creatures -- and if you'll consider nonfiction, a great read about real 19th century fossil hunters is The Dinosaur Hunters by Deborah Cadbury.

22amarie
ag. 24, 2011, 5:52 pm

Letters From Yellowstone by Diane Smith has a (fictional) young woman traveling out West in 1890s to study flora and fauna in the park.

23jnwelch
ag. 24, 2011, 6:01 pm

24cacky
ag. 26, 2011, 11:01 am

The River of Doubt by Candice Millard tells the true story of Teddy Roosevelt's ill-planned expedition down uncharted areas of the Amazon River. The expedition was a disaster but the book is fantastic.

25asurbanipal
oct. 3, 2017, 5:25 am

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimé_Bonpland
He was kind of imprisoned in Paraguay by its dictator and this is an important subject in I, the Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos. But he also appears in Measuring the World.

26raidergirl3
oct. 3, 2017, 7:45 am

The Edge of the Orchard has a famous seed collector and the redwoods of California, in the second half of the book. Also Johnny Appleseed.

I second Remarkable Creatures also by Tracy Chevalier.

27southernbooklady
Editat: oct. 3, 2017, 9:14 am

Amitav Ghosh's Ibis trilogy has a young french woman character who is the daughter of a naturalist and goes on to become one herself. The second book in the trilogy, River of Smoke, has some extensive descriptions of what plant collecting was like during the era -- I loved the account of ship-board "painted gardens" --- all the illustrated reference materials collectors would bring along to help them with identification.

On a more surreal note, Cesar Aira's The Hare features a narrator who is traveling through the Argentine pampas in search of a rare rabbit described by an earlier explorer as being able to fly. It's actually more of an extended fever-dream exploration of what it means to be native, foreign, of the tribe, or not of the tribe. And it is quite funny.

There's a book by Martin Davies called The Conjurer's Bird which is a kind of mystery centered around the disappearance of a specimen from Joseph Banks' collection.

Anything by WH Hudson might fit the bill, but Green Mansions is fiction.

And more recently, the naturalist E.O. Wilson wrote a novel, Anthill that borrows heavily from his own life, featuring a young boy who finds escape from his circumstances by wandering in the woods and swamps and learning about all the creatures he sees.

For nonfiction about historically important naturalists some of my current favorites are

The Invention of Nature -- Andrea Wulf's phenomenal account of Alexander von Humboldt, one of the best books I've ever read.

Nature's Engraver -- a life of Thomas Bewick that has made me pick up every single one of Jenny Uglow's books

Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphasis by Kim Todd, which was an expensive purchase, not because the book is pricey, but because I was then compelled to find reproductions of Maria Sibylla Merian's work.

28Sharon.Robards
gen. 23, 2018, 10:05 pm

Fortune's Son by Jennifer Scoullar https://www.librarything.com/work/7788713/150417124

29jessibud2
març 29, 2018, 8:50 pm

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert is another really good read in this genre. And I wholeheartedly second Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. I listened to both of those on audiobook and the Chevalier one was exceptionally well done.