There are many such as Syms Covington in history: often shadowy footnotes in the better known lives of men such as Charles Darwin and Robert FitzRoy. Consider the phases of Covington’s life: a narrow, circumscribed life in England then his part in the voyages of discovery on the Beagle, followed by the wider possibilities afforded him by life in colonial Australia. The contrasts and conflicts in the novel between the old and the new are not confined to religion and theories of evolution. The young Covington is an eager participant in Darwin’s discoveries, the older Covington is concerned that Darwin’s conclusions will reveal his own role in what he sees be a crime against his religious faith. There are two time periods to this narrative: the first focuses on the early life of Syms Covington and his travels with Darwin the second focuses on him as an aging man living in Australia and awaiting a copy of Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’. Covington was 15 when this voyage set sail, Darwin was 23. This novel has been crafted around the life of Syms Covington, who was servant and assistant to Charles Darwin on the second voyage of the Beagle (December 1831 to September 1936). He can be more, in the light of understanding.’ ‘No, a man does not have to be just as he seems.
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