Joseph Banks: A Life (1987), is a biography by Patrick O'Brian of the 18th-century English naturalist, botanist and explorer Joseph Banks. It was first published by The Harvill Press, London. O'Brian is better known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of historical novels based on the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic period. That series occasionally mentions Sir Joseph Banks in his role in the Royal Society, and has a main character and several occasional characters who pursue natural philosophy, observing and collecting specimens to add to scientific knowledge. Source: Wikipedia (en)