Citizen Labillardiere

Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere was one of the great traveller-naturalists of the eighteenth century. He is most famous for his account of his voyage to the South Seas with Bruny d'Entrecasteaux in search of La Perouse in 1791-93. Labillardiere’s Relation was an international bestseller in its day, helping to usher the southern continent into the European imagination. During his visit to the south-western coast of New Holland and his two sojourns in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), Labillardiere also laid the foundations for his magnificent Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen (1804u06), which is justly recognised as the ‘first general flora of Australia’. He was also the author of the first published flora of New Caledonia.

In researching this exciting and elegantly written biography, Edward Duyker revisited many of the naturalist’s landfalls around the world. He also examined a wide range of archival and museum collections to piece together Labillardiere’s correspondence and observations. The result is the first comprehensive study of the naturalist, revealing a committed republican who was shaped by the turbulent years of revolutionary and Napoleonic France. Dr Duyker ranges widely: from the tranquil cloisters of Normandy to the pillaged libraries and museums of Italy, from the Cedars of Lebanon to the verdant islands of the Pacific, from the frozen passes of the Alps to the parched shores of New Holland. This is a story of science, survival and a grand adventure.