Forget the dry, settled science you learned in school. George John Romanes's Darwin, and After Darwin is the story of evolution in the messy, exciting years right after the master himself had spoken. Volume 1 sets the stage, but it's in Volume 3 where the real action is. Romanes, a close friend and defender of Darwin, takes on the monumental task of building on the foundation. Darwin showed that evolution happened, but the precise mechanisms—the nuts and bolts of heredity and variation—were still a black box.

The Story

There isn't a traditional plot with characters, but there is a powerful narrative: the struggle to explain life's complexity. Romanes dives into the biggest puzzles of his day. He grapples with 'physiological selection,' his own idea for how new species might form without physical separation. He tackles the confusing role of use and disuse in shaping bodies (think giraffe necks). Most fascinatingly, he wades into the mystery of instincts and intelligence, trying to figure out how mental traits could possibly evolve. The 'story' is watching a sharp, dedicated scientist try to connect the dots in a world before genes were understood, using every tool and observation he has.

Why You Should Read It

This isn't just historical trivia. Reading Romanes is humbling and thrilling. You see brilliant ideas that were close to the mark (his thoughts on variation hint at concepts like mutation) and others that were dead ends. You feel the frustration and the ambition of early evolutionary biology. It makes you appreciate how scientific knowledge is built—not by one genius having a 'Eureka!' moment, but through decades of debate, wrong turns, and collaborative refinement. Romanes's passion is contagious. He isn't a distant authority; he's a guide, excitedly pointing out problems and proposing solutions, inviting you to think along with him.

Final Verdict

This is a book for the curious reader who loves science history. It's perfect for anyone who enjoyed Darwin's own work and wants to see the immediate fallout, or for fans of authors like Stephen Jay Gould who explore the human side of scientific discovery. It's not a light beach read—you have to be willing to engage with some old-fashioned scientific language—but the payoff is a profound understanding of how a world-changing idea began to grow roots. You'll finish it with a new respect for the giants whose shoulders we stand on.