The Evolutionist: The Strange Tale of Alfred Russel Wallace

by Avi Sirlin

Overview

1858: The Malay Archipelago. In the remote tropics a young British naturalist, Alfred Wallace, toils in obscurity. He collects specimens: beetles, moths, ants and birds that sell for pennies apiece in England.

One night, suffering from fever and hallucination, Wallace solves the greatest mystery of the era: the origin of species. To circulate his discovery, he contacts a distant acquaintance Charles Darwin. Unbeknownst to Wallace, Darwin has been secretly penning a near-identical version of the same evolutionary theory for twenty years. Darwin soon achieves world-renown and Wallace earns, if nothing else, widespread grudging respect. But then Wallace returns to England where his advocacy for ideas ranging from socialism to spiritualism launches him on a collision course with the men at the very heart of the scientific establishment, including Darwin.

The Evolutionist tells of one man's determination to seek out his own truths in his own unique way and the price he pays. From oppressive jungle to mid-Victorian London, this is a disturbing tale of money, class, faith and discrimination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781906582531
Publisher:	Aurora Metro Books
Publication date:	11/01/2014
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Avi Sirlin is a Canadian writer and lawyer who grew up in Toronto. After obtaining a university degree in biology, he attended law school in Kingston, Ontario, then returned to Toronto where he established a practice in immigration and criminal law. Avi now lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and is currently at work on a new novel.

Table of Contents

Author biography

Novel

Author note

Editorial Reviews

“A vivid and gripping read.” 

The Star, Malaysia - Natalie Heng

“Avi Sirlin has produced an enjoyable and thought-provoking work which should thankfully introduce a remarkable (yet remarkably unknown) scientific giant to a wider audience.” 

Rodney Munday

“A wide audience beyond the scientifically curious will find this an easy read and come away with a richer understanding of the rigours of early scientific research both in the field and in the halls of established theory.” 

Netgalley - Professor Gene J Parola

"A strongly impressionistic portrait of an undeservedly little-known scientist, The Evolutionist is a raptly compelling read." - Midwest Book Review

“Wallace never attained Darwin’s level of fame, perhaps because Wallace’s radical ideas (including his belief in spiritualism) ran contrary to those of the scientific establishment. The Evolutionist brings to life a saga of passion for research, and the sharp divides of money, class, and discrimination. A strongly impressionistic portrait of an undeservedly little-known scientist, The Evolutionist is a raptly compelling read.” 

From the Publisher

“A triumph of biographical fiction, an utterly convincing character study of one of the most poignant figures in the history of science. Wallace’s status as social outsider, beside the more established standing of Darwin and his connections with Lyell and Hooker (the latter represented by the fictitious composite character Newcastle), conspired to deprive him of fuller credit for his accomplished work in advancing the controversial new theory, especially as the younger Wallace chose to go through Darwin himself to present his paper first explicating it.

The genius of the novel is its convincing immersion in the language of its time, the mid-nineteenth century. Neither dense nor affected, however, the period piece reads as naturally as if its prose were our own. Particularly seamless is the blending of speech by the characters in Wallace’s circle, and the narrative voice portraying the protagonist in third person (Bates and he had a devil of a time squeezing through the narrow channel … Along the way, the pacing of action, thought and dialogue keeps us engaged in the journey, whether in the muck of the Amazon and jungles of Borneo, or the salons, courtrooms and pubs of London. Sirlin has a deft touch with visual description to complement an unerring taste (A pill of memory stuck in his throat) and ear for authentic language…

Sirlin uses his lawyer’s skills to chart the mystery of the origins of Darwin’s famous Origin of Species. While some of the blame for Wallace’s obscurity lies with his self-effacing humility, and some for an accident at sea, and still more for the constricting mindset of established science, the machinations of Darwin and his associates clearly contrived to bring Darwin’s long-simmering theory to the fore. In this drama, however, even these competitors show compassion and respect for Wallace’s acquiescence; and Darwin himself admits: Your essay inspired a clarity of vision that had altogether been precluded by my own cowardice.

The Evolutionist works as an entertaining read, as a polished literary gem, and as an authoritative expose of science’s most celebrated coincidence. The thorough research appears as it should in the best historical fiction, to make the world and its characters come truly and convincingly alive.”

Goodreads - Howick Gray

"An exciting adventure story well told."

Shiny New Books - Peter Hobson

"A triumph of biographical fiction, an utterly convincing character study of one of the most poignant figures in the history of science. Wallace's status as social outsider, beside the more established standing of Darwin and his connections with Lyell and Hooker (the latter represented by the fictitious composite character Newcastle), conspired to deprive him of fuller credit for his accomplished work in advancing the controversial new theory, especially as the younger Wallace chose to go through Darwin himself to present his paper first explicating it.

The genius of the novel is its convincing immersion in the language of its time, the mid-nineteenth century. Neither dense nor affected, however, the period piece reads as naturally as if its prose were our own. Particularly seamless is the blending of speech by the characters in Wallace's circle, and the narrative voice portraying the protagonist in third person (Bates and he had a devil of a time squeezing through the narrow channel ...

Along the way, the pacing of action, thought and dialogue keeps us engaged in the journey, whether in the muck of the Amazon and jungles of Borneo, or the salons, courtrooms and pubs of London. Sirlin has a deft touch with visual description to complement an unerring taste (A pill of memory stuck in his throat) and ear for authentic language...

Sirlin uses his lawyer's skills to chart the mystery of the origins of Darwin's famous Origin of Species. While some of the blame for Wallace's obscurity lies with his self-effacing humility, and some for an accident at sea, and still more for the constricting mindset of established science, the machinations of Darwin and his associates clearly contrived to bring Darwin's long-simmering theory to the fore. In this drama, however, even these competitors show compassion and respect for Wallace's acquiescence; and Darwin himself admits: Your essay inspired a clarity of vision that had altogether been precluded by my own cowardice.

The Evolutionist works as an entertaining read, as a polished literary gem, and as an authoritative expose of science's most celebrated coincidence. The thorough research appears as it should in the best historical fiction, to make the world and its characters come truly and convincingly alive."

goodreads - Howick Gray

"A wide audience beyond the scientifically curious will find this an easy read and come away with a richer understanding of the rigours of early scientific research both in the field and in the halls of established theory."

Professor J Parola