Citizen Labillardire

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. In researching this exciting and elegantly written biography, Edward Duyker revisited many of the naturalist's landfalls around the world. 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. This is a story of science, survival and a grand adventure.