Off-topic: Alfred Russel Wallace

I had been having a discussion with a some people elsewhere about Alfred Russel Wallace and how he is under-appreciated and his name is rarely mentioned, yet in certain circles he seems to be very well known indeed; given the erudition of the membership here I thought it would be interesting to ask the question:

1. have you heard of Alfred Russel Wallace, and
2. have you read his book The Malay Archipelago or any of his other books?

and 3. have you read Darwin (The Origin Of Species or others)?

In my experience his name is pretty much unknown to the wider world, even though I've seen Darwin and Darwinism become a part of general knowledge across society; I only discovered recently that the theory was known at first as the Darwin-Wallace theory (of evolution by natural selection), but that Wallace was later sidelined. I've made a decision that although I had intended to read The Origin Of Species this spring (and Darwin's Journal Of Researches) I am reading The Malay Archipelago first.

I covered a little of this at Uni. I don't think his involvement with the occult and seance helped his cause.

Those were subjects that interested a lot of people at the time though (he was also interested in phrenology). During that period it appears that he was awarded the Order of Merit and the Linnean Medal and was elected to the Royal Society too, so he was certainly well regarded at the time even with that interest and the fact that he wasn't part of the establishment. Considering the work he did and its impact he seems to be pretty much forgotten these days.

> 3

I mean no derision of his academic achievements. I hint only that this decision to publicly promote the paranormal, may have been a factor in his sidelining.

Yes , I am interested in Wallace. I too think he was under appreciated and under valued . but there are good books and scholars around who know about Wallace and his contributions . His work is more than a foil and footnote to Darwin . I own the following books which are relevant to this discussion .. Alfred R Wallace. the Times Life great explorations series for the Wallace volume ( which must have been produced in considerable numbers) . A narrative of travels on the Amazon. Tim Severin went in search of Wallace see The Spice Islands Voyage . I also love the book by Tony Rice Voyages of Discovery , re 10 of the greatest natural history expeditions . Last year I also bought an 1890 book by Wallace , I recollect called Darwinism , but not coming up on
Touchstones . I. found that one on a bargain table at local charity bookshop! I have not read his Malay Archipelago but would certainly wish to acquire it .

Incidentally I think the Time Life facsimile series on Classics of Exploration is undervalued all round and was beautifully produced with maps and illustrations . Authors such as Barrington, Burton (2 volumes ) , Browne, Bock , Burnaby , Burnes, Du Chaillu, Landor , Layard, Livingstone, Peary, Selous, Shackleton, Stanley , Wallace , Whymper, . I recommend all of these titles . My set is not complete and seems that some titles are harder to find than others . I shall check titles if anyone is interested and wants to send me a pm. I shall photograph the ones I have and include on my pics page for LT .

Has Folio society published any Wallace titles ? Or any Darwin?

>5 Africansky1:

I can find no evidence that the FS has published any Wallace. As for Darwin, they have published The Origin of Species, The Voyage of the Beagle, The Descent of Man, and The Expression of the Emotions. They first did a boxed set of all four in 1990, and then reissued them individually between 2003 and 2008, with the bindings in the style of the "Exploration" series.

1) yes
2) no
3) yes

1) yes. In my opinion, he is overshadowed by Darwin largely because he embraced fringe ideas and did not cultivate mainstream support.
2) no
3) yes

About eighteen months ago Bill Bailey presented a BBC tv programme about Alfred Russel Wallace made partly on location in Indonesia; Bailey concluded that Wallace beat Darwin to it. It’s available on you tube.

Thanks very much for the info guys, very interesting. One day I'll have to read some of the books mentioned to get a better understanding of Wallace; my knowledge is not particularly deep on his life. I'm around 110 pages into The Malay Archipelago and finding it fascinating, though reading has been rather held up by a nasty virus I've had over the last couple of days.

>9 bookfair_e: I saw those programmes on Wallace, they were very interesting - the first time I'd really seen more than a brief mention of him. I found some poor quality uploads of them on youtube last week (Bill Bailey's Jungle Hero), which were good to watch again even though they were in the wrong aspect ratio.

>1 Paulfozz: Happened on this one a bit late but:

1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes

I'll add a fourth:
Are you willing to pay north of £600 for a copy?

4. No.

And a fifth:
What are the odds of Folio reprinting this one?

5. Slim, I suspect, but I do occasionally regret letting it slip away.

>6 garyjbp: I can find no evidence that the FS has published any Wallace

Apart from The Malay Archipelago, published in two volumes in 2017. A magnificent edition.

Yes, I'm familiar with and have read a bit of A.R. Wallace (but then I have an academic background in biology). As for Darwin's contemporaries and rivals, my favorite has always been Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. I was thoroughly cheered when advances in the science of epigenetics somewhat revalidated his frankly charming theories.

>13 folio_books: To be fair, garyjpb’s post was in 2015.

>15 Chemren:

Ooops, I didn't see that. One of the problems of resurrecting old threads.

>16 folio_books:

Sorry. I did say it was 'a bit late' but perhaps I should have emphasised that more.

>17 Cat_of_Ulthar:

No, no, that was me, not paying sufficient attention. But thanks :)

Yup, heard of him and read The Malay Archipelago, plus Travels on the Amazon. I've done a few trips with Operation Wallacea, first as a student, then diving instructor, then lecturer, and for my first trip I wrote an essay on Wallace as part of an application for a grant - it was then I first read The Malay Archipelago.

I always took it when I was going to Indonesia, mostly just as something to read when my kindle was out of battery and the electricity wasn't on. I quite enjoyed it, although it was definitely of it's time as you'd expect - some racism and lack of empathy for animals. When I discovered FS a few years ago I was gutted to find out that I'd missed out on their edition of The Malay Archipelago - and considering how much it's selling for secondhand I doubt I'll ever get my hands on a copy.

From what I've seen, Wallace definitely seems to be getting the credit he deserves nowadays - I was taught a bit about him during uni (Marine Biology), he was mentioned a few times during A-level and GCSE biology alongside Darwin, and I've seen him mentioned on TV and in articles quite a bit. But then, as an ecologist I guess I'm more likely to come across and notice mentions of him? Most of my friends are in ecology/environmental science too, so could be living in a bit of a bubble!