Mr. Darwin's Shooter

Mr Darwin's Shooter is a 1998 novel by Roger McDonald. It describes the life of Syms Covington, manservant to Charles Darwin during Darwin's voyage aboard HMS Beagle.

The book deals with three periods of Covington's life: childhood, adolescence while on HMS Beagle, and middle age, where Covington is struggling to deal with the conflict between his religious views and his role in the formulation of the theory of natural selection. Among the many animals Syms Covington shot and prepared for Charles Darwin were the Galápagos finches, which became crucial for his theory.

Awards and nominations

 * 1999 NSW Premier's Award for Fiction,
 * 1999 Victorian Premier's Award for Fiction,
 * 2000 National Fiction Award,
 * 2000 SA Premier's Literary Award