The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power and the obsessions of Henry Wickham

New
Paperback
2009
$10.72

In 1876, a man named Henry Wickham smuggled seventy thousand rubber tree seeds out of the rain forests of Brazil and delivered them to Victorian England's most prestigious scientists at Kew Gardens. Those seeds, planted around the world in England's colonial outposts, gave rise to the great rubber boom of the early twentieth century - an explosion of entrepreneurial and scientific industry that would change the world. The story of how Wickham got his hands on those seeds - a sought-after prize for many suffered and died - is the stuff of legend. In this lively account of obsession, greed, bravery and betrayal, author and journalist Joe Jackson brings to life a classic Victorian fortune-hunter and the empire that fueled, then abandoned, him. The Thief at the End of the World is a thrilling true story of reckless courage and ambition.

Synopsis

In 1876, a man named Henry Wickham smuggled seventy thousand rubber tree seeds out of the rain forests of Brazil and delivered them to Victorian England's most prestigious scientists at Kew Gardens. Those seeds, planted around the world in England's colonial outposts, gave rise to the great rubber boom of the early twentieth century - an explosion of entrepreneurial and scientific industry that would change the world. The story of how Wickham got his hands on those seeds - a sought-after prize for many suffered and died - is the stuff of legend. In this lively account of obsession, greed, bravery and betrayal, author and journalist Joe Jackson brings to life a classic Victorian fortune-hunter and the empire that fueled, then abandoned, him. "The Thief at the End of the World" is a thrilling true story of reckless courage and ambition.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 432
Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
Published: 21 Aug 2009
ISBN 10: 0715637940
ISBN 13: 9780715637944

Media Reviews

'Jackson is a gifted storyteller... [he] elegantly weaves Wickham's tribulations into the broader context of the empire' - Sunday Times. 'The dark story of the fascinating, nearly forgotten Henry Wickham, a tragic adventurer who could have come straight from the pages of Joseph Conrad... a fabulous story' - Los Angeles Times Book Review. 'Wickham had a colourful life, and Jackson tells it very well... an evocative narrative underpinned with sound scholarship' - Independent. 'Finely researched and unexpectedly absorbing... [Jackson's] enthusiasm for his unlikely subject proves infectious' - Telegraph. 'Illuminating and shocking' - New Scientist. 'Joe Jackson's strong investigative and story-telling skills conjure up the colour and characters of Wickham's meandering path through the British colonies and beyond' - Nature.

Author Bio

Joe Jackson is the author of one novel and four works of non-fiction, including Leavenworth Train , a finalist for the 2002 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. He was an investigative reporter for the Virginian Pilot. He lives in Virginia with his wife and son.