Kynaston Edward: Man on Edge

'A character, an eccentric, a bit of a looney with birds in his beard and bats in his belfry . . .' was how Edward Kynaston first glimpsed Ferdinand von Mueller.

In A Man on Edge Edward Kynaston brings brilliantly to life one of the most remarkable and paradoxical characters ever to find his way to Australia: courageous explorer, controversial public figure, prolific author, distinguished scientist, sartorial dignity, founder of Australian forestry, one of the first and best-informed conservationists.

Entangled in the strict sexual code of his day, Mueller managed to avoid the consequences (he was threatened with horsewhipping) by his outrageous audacity, He was by turns tragic, comic, naïve, foolhardy, brave, cowardly, straightforward, devious, and forever haunted by his strange sad childhood.

In Mueller were combined all the excesses and inhibitions and contradictions of the roaring, brawling, exciting adventurous Victorian age in Australia. Edward Kynaston brings poignantly vivid life to the days of goldrush and exploration, the proliferation of towns and cities, the violence of the streets, the hideous respectability of the rich, the corruption in political life, the idyllic Eden-like beauty of the still unsullied land.

A model of correct behaviour in his work as a public servant, Mueller nevertheless fought doggedly against the government that hounded and persecuted and finally dismissed him. For over fifty years he was one of the dominating figures of Australian exploration.

A Man on Edge is an immensely stimulating book full of acute observation
and sharp insights, a compelling account of another age in Australia with all its tragedies and tensions and turmoil.