THE MULTIFARIOUS MR BANKS: FROM BOTANY BAY TO KEW, THE NATURAL HISTORIAN WHO SHAPED THE WORLD

Yale University Press, £25 ISBN 978-0300223835

A scholarly and detailed exposition of the great achievements of Sir Joseph Banks a leading scientific figure of the English Enlightenment. Reviewer Hannah Gardner is a horticulturist and garden writer.

Multifarious is an uncommon and slightly mannered word that neatly reflects the Georgian time frame for this engaging account of the adventurous life of Joseph Banks (1743-1820). Musgrave delves deep into the diverse interests and significant scientific achievements of this charismatic natural historian. A botanical trailblazer, he was the first European to make an extensive study of the natural history and anthropology of Tahiti,

New Zealand and Australia.

Born into an aristocratic family, Banks developed an early interest in the nature.

His private income supported his botanical studies; while his initiative carved out opportunities for extensive natural history studies. He was to become the father of modern plant hunting.

Fascinating chronological chapters detail voyage preparations, collecting techniques and the illustrious botanical networks of the day, Linnaeus was a much-revered but elderly scholar; and so it fell on his pupil Dr Solander to join the expedition through the largely unchartered waters of the South Seas. Banks undertook several epic voyages, most famously with the dynamic Lieutenant James

Cook aboard HMS Endeavour.

This lively and even-handed account is well annotated, drawing heavily on correspondence and travel journals from the early Newfoundland expedition, the great circumnavigation aboard HMS Endeavour (from which Banks returned to a hero’s welcome) and his later Icelandic voyage. Back in England Banks immersed himself in progressive scientific projects emerging as perhaps the most influential scientist of his time and the longest serving President of The Royal Society. Embracing the inclusive spirit of the age, he was more interested in the advancement of science than personal glory, working hard to expand the remit of the Royal Gardens at Kew and create the world’s leading researchorientated botanic garden.