since his return to England. In the preface Wallace explains why he delayed writing
his book for six years after his return, saying that by waiting for the results of the study
of his collections he had given the reader a much more interesting and instructive
book. Based on the four field journals he kept during his eight years in Malaysia and
Indonesia, it is still the greatest travel book on the region. After receiving his copy of
The Malay Archipelago Darwin wrote: ‘I was delighted at receiving your book this
morning. The whole appearance and the illustrations with which it is so profusely
ornamented are quite beautiful.’ He later added:
That you have returned alive is wonderful after all your risk from illness and sea voyages,
especially the most interesting one to Waigeo and back. Of all the impressions which I have
received from your book, the strongest is that your perseverance in the cause of science was
heroic.It is remarkable that nowhere in The Malay Archipelago does Wallace refer to his
discovery of the origin of species or his paper ‘On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart
Indefinitely from the Original Type’. He gives all the honour to Charles Darwin as the
dedication to the book reads:
To CHARLES DARWIN
AUTHOR OF ‘THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES’
I dedicate this work
Not only as a token of personal esteem and friendship
But also
To express my deep admiration
For
His genius and his worksThe first edition of The Malay Archipelago, 1500 copies in two volumes, quickly
sold out and a second edition of 750 copies also sold out. Translations were made
into German and Dutch and the book has never been out of print. It is a wonderful
book and apart from being both a travel journal and scientific work it is written with
simplicity, clarity and the most remarkable literary elegance, as can be seen in this
example from his time in Macassar:
It was the beginning of December, and the rainy season at Macassar had just set in.Alfred Russel Wallace – The Return to England^189