A Polar Affair

July 29, 2019
Biologist Davis (Professor Penguin) combines history and science seamlessly in this enthralling look at pioneering scientist George Murray Levick (1876–1956) and his discoveries about the diversity of animal sexuality. Davis, who had—he thought—discovered male homosexuality among penguins in 1996, realized 15 years later that his observation was not new. In 1914, Levick, a survivor of Robert Scott’s ill-fated 1910–1912 Antarctica expedition, had written a manuscript that initially reported the same, and a slew of other taboo behaviors among the birds. But the scandal this would have caused led to Levick’s book, Antarctic Penguins: A Study of Their Social Habits, the first ever about penguins, being expurgated of the offending passages. Davis tracked down a rare copy of Levick’s notes in the British Natural History Museum, and was inspired to learn more about his undeservedly obscure predecessor. The end result is an entertaining look at Levick’s life, including his time on the Scott expedition, and his later-in-life roles in teaching wilderness survival skills to private school students and, during WWII, British commandos. Davis injects his own research findings into the narrative, producing a biography/popular science book that will appeal equally to polar expedition buffs and zoology enthusiasts. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.