Glaucus, or, The Wonders of the Shore

Perhaps best known for his children's book The Water Babies, Rev. Charles Kingsley was a prolific writer of a great variety of non-fictional works as well, including sermons, social commentaries, and scientific treatises. He was a capable amateur naturalist, too, and well-versed in the scientific issues of the day (he and Charles Darwin corresponded). Glaucus, named for an ancient Greek sea-god, was penned for a popular audience. A proponent of science education, in the book Kingsley encourages personal and religious improvement through knowledge of the natural world, in this case the corals, mollusks, and anemones found at the seashore. The amateur study of natural history was a popular pastime in Victorian England. Our copy has been scanned; you can read it, and see more of the illustrations here.