AN Wilson, prolific author of biographies and nonfiction works, has turned his attention to the historical novel form to depict the adventures of real-life figure George Forster.
Forster sailed aboard HMS Resolution, as part of Captain Cook’s feted second expedition around the Pacific. The spirit of exploration and discovery in this tale isn’t just confined to that sea voyage, which charted coastlines to maps for the first time and catalogued many fauna and species.
As the story moves through time, the characters’ lives intersect with great intellects of the age with new perspectives, such as Goethe, Priestley and von Humboldt.
Themes such as Enlightenment, Romanticism and the political upheavals of the French Revolution all act as jolts to the plot lines.
Amidst all the big ideas, it is Wilson’s depiction of Forster, the perennial wanderer never truly comfortable in any given location or time, which keeps the reader engaged.
