The surgeon-naturalist of HMS Beagle, Benjamin Bynoe, R.N., FRCS, has remained invisible despite his role in helping his friend, Charles Darwin, to pin down the first solid evidence for the theory of evolution, and despite outstanding work as a naturalist in Australia. From lowly white creole roots in Barbados, through the trailblazing years of exploration on the Beagle, to subsequent assignments, his doctoring skills were valued by all under his care: his shipmates, his captain, convicts bound for Australia, Irish peasants during the Great Famine, and Darwin himself.

Liz Laidler pulls Bynoe from the shadows and along the way, divulges the intimate, untold side of life as lived by the men on the Beagle.