My mom recommended my book selection for the Galapagos: Charles & Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. It had been on my shelf for a few months (ever since we booked our trip) but I never had a chance to pick it up nor did I even read the back summary, so I had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be right up my alley!
This book - told in both narrative form & via actual letters written by the Darwin family & friends - is a behind-the-scenes look at Darwin's personal life: his marriage, his religious convictions (or lack thereof) and his lifelong mission to study and make sense of the observations he made during his 5 months aboard the HMS Beagle. It was interesting to learn that Darwin only spent a total of 5 weeks on the Galapagos Islands, mostly just collecting specimens and documenting his observations. It was after more than 20 years of studying his notes about the finches and barnacles he collected on his trip that he finally decided to publish his findings in The Origin of Species. His wife was an extremely religious woman and while her beliefs conflicted greatly with Darwin's personal beliefs and his scientific findings, they were the the closest of partners throughout their marriage until his death in 1882.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in digging a little deeper into the personal life of Darwin, or who anyone intrigued by in exploring the depths of a loving & supportive relationship between people who had extremely different views on a topic so critical in both of their lives.
Happy reading!
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