Travels in Spain and the East, 18081810 [Paperback]

Darwin's uncle describes his dangerous and eventful Mediterranean tour during the Napoleonic Wars.Francis Darwin may have inspired his nephew Charles with this daring journey exploring the Mediterranean region, then highly dangerous through war, piracy and plague. He was the only man to survive of his original party, thanks no doubt to the bravery he exhibits in these exhilarating tales.Francis Darwin may have inspired his nephew Charles with this daring journey exploring the Mediterranean region, then highly dangerous through war, piracy and plague. He was the only man to survive of his original party, thanks no doubt to the bravery he exhibits in these exhilarating tales.The son of Erasmus Darwin and uncle of Charles Darwin, Francis Darwin lived a mostly quiet life as a doctor in Lichfield, taking early retirement to a remote part of Derbyshire. As a young man, however, he took an intrepid and eventful Grand Tour of the Mediterranean and kept a detailed journal. The quick succession of places and events and the constant danger due to war, piracy and plague make this a thrilling read, with murder and adventure on every page. Highlights of the journey include a mountain climb with a bottle of laudanum as the only provision, a daring escape over the rooftops of a Greek village from a group of enraged natives, and dinner with Lord Byron, though Darwin frustratingly reveals little about the poet. The journal was edited for publication by his grandson in 1927, in 'tribute to the remarkable pluck and indomitable energy of the author'.1. Corunna, St Jago, Vigo, Oporto; 2. Lisbon and Cintra; 3. Cadiz, Xeres, Seville; 4. Gibraltar and Granada; 5. Tetuan and Malta; 6. Milo, Smyrna, Ephesus; 7. Constantinople; 8. Abydos, Troy, Tenedos, Smyrna; 9. Athens, Argos, Delos; 10. The isles of Greece; 11. Smyrna, Malta, England; Appendices.