John Gould, author and publisher of some of the most magnificent illustrated works on birds ever to have been created, was a genius and a cad. His vast, colourful volumes eclipsed even his American counterpart Audubon in accuracy and art.
But John Gould's work was the result of sacrifice and alienation. Through the loyalty and handiwork of his wife and many other artists - one Edward Lear in particular - who often went unacknowledged, Gould cemented his reputation as the sovereign man of birds.
Isabella Tree's lively and evocative biography reveals a story of discovery, ambition and betrayal - touching on some of the greatest wonders of the Victorian era, from the arrival of the first giraffe in London to Gould's crucial role in Darwin's theory of natural selection.
