The Journey of Anders Sparrman

From the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature comes an enthralling, highly acclaimed novel based on the life of one of the early botanist-explorers, combining intellectual precision with emotional power From the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature comes an enthralling, highly acclaimed novel based on the life of one of the early botanist-explorers, combining intellectual precision with emotional power Set between the end of the Enlightenment and the dawn of Romanticism, this haunting novel is based on the life of Anders Sparrman, the 18th-century naturalist and disciple of the scientist Carl Linnaeus. Despite humble beginnings, in his quest for new animal and plant specimens Sparrman sailed to China at 17, joined Captain Cook on his second voyage to Antarctica and Tahiti, and later made an unprecedented journey on foot into the South African interior. Wästberg uses his own extensive knowledge of South Africa and Sweden to create a strange, almost mystical narrative that weaves passages from Sparrman's letters and journals into his own spare prose. As he follows Sparrman from innocent student to skeptical adventurer to dedicated botanist to militant abolitionist, he evokes the beauty of the Swedish countryside, the squalid conditions on board ship, the dangers and geographical wonders of Africa, and, finally, the late flowering passion that overtakes Sparrman's life.

By Per Wästberg 352 Pages Trade Paper ISBN 9781847081759