{"title":"Nicholas Drayson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"confessing-a-murder","title":"Confessing a Murder","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Theory of Evolution was the greatest scientific concept of its age. It was so revolutionary that its author, Charles Darwin, revealed to a friend in 1854 that even mentioning it felt like 'confessing a murder'. Both the man and his theory are still the subject of intrigue and debate. How was it that the unremarkable younger son of a rich plutocrat, who idled through school, dropped out of medical studies and looked destined to be a clergyman of some quiet country parish, came to lay the foundation stone of modern biology? And how was it that another biologist, Alfred Russel Wallace, came up with the same theory at the same time? The answer may be found in Nicholas Drayson's delicious first novel. Purporting to be an anonymous memoir found in an attic, its author is an arrogant but brilliant homosexual whose life has crossed with that of Darwin with startling regularity. He is writing it on a small island in the Java Sea of which he is the only human inhabitant. The island has a live volcano and, aware that his life will soon come to an end, he sets out the true story of the theory of natural selection, confesses a murder of his own, and provides a fascinating and delightful account of the plants and animals of the now-vanished island. Peaceful gadzocks and bloodthirsty mistletoes, jumping cucumbers and bat-eating spiders, and most prized of all - the Golden Scarab.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47263711887654,"sku":"9780393051292","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/11419367-a606-43fa-8412-eebded2e566d.jpg?v=1701083824"},{"product_id":"a-guide-to-the-birds-of-east-africa","title":"A Guide to the Birds of East Africa","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor lovers of Alexander McCall Smith, Nicholas Drayson introduces the charming Mr Malik and the East African Ornithological Society in \u003cem\u003eA Guide to the Birds of East Africa\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReserved, honourable Mr Malik. You wouldn't notice him in a Nairobi street - except, perhaps, to comment on his carefully sculpted comb-over - but beneath his unprepossessing exterior lie a warm heart and a secret passion. Not even his closest friends know it, but Mr Malik is head-over-heels in love with the leader of the local Tuesday-morning bird walk, Rose Mbikwa.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLittle can he imagine the hurdles that lie before him. Even as he plucks up the courage to ask for Rose's hand, thieves, potential kidnappers and corrupt officials, not to mention one particularly determined love rival, seem destined to thwart Mr Malik's chances.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWill an Indian gentleman in the heart of Africa be defeated by the many obstacles that stand between him and his heart's desire? Or will honour and decency prevail?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'A funny, ingenious and touching love story' Joanne Harris, \u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'A delightful comedy... It invites comparison to The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, but it's original and, if anything, has more depth' \u003cem\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Sweet, charming and utterly wonderful on the subject of birds'\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eMetro\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNicholas Drayson was born in England and has lived in Australia since 1982, where he studied zoology and a PhD in 19th century Australian natural history writing. He has worked as a journalist in the UK, Kenya and Australia, writing for publications such as the \u003cem\u003eDaily Telegraph \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eAustralian Geographic\u003c\/em\u003e. He is the author of three other novels, \u003cem\u003eConfessing a Murder\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLove and the Platypus \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e A Guide to the Beasts of East Africa.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47263716704550,"sku":"9780670917570","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/6c7bc703-0213-4042-bda0-72795fe7c1d2.jpg?v=1701084040"}],"url":"https:\/\/goldsborobooks.pro\/collections\/nicholas-drayson.oembed","provider":"Goldsboro Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}