The Correspondence of Charles Darwin
29 total works
This is the second volume of the complete edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. For the first time full authoritative texts of Darwin's letters are available, edited according to modern textual editorial principles and practice. The letters in this volume were written during the seven years following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage. It was a period of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional man with official responsibilities in several scientific organisations. During these years he published two books and fifteen papers and also organised and superintended the publication of the Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Beagle, for which he described the locations of the fossils and the habitats and behaviour of the living species he had collected. Busy as he was with scientific activities, Darwin found time to re-establish family ties and friendships, and to make new friends among the naturalists with whom his work brought him into close contact. In November 1838, two years after his return Darwin became engaged to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, whom he subsequently married.
This volume covers the culmination of Darwin's work on species. From early in 1856, when he was persuaded that the time had come to publish an account of his heterodox theories, through 1857, Darwin's letters document the labour involved in composing his 'big species book', his zest for research, and his unflagging determination to succeed. As always, old friends and more recent acquaintances were drawn into the project. Darwin writes for the first time to Alfred Russel Wallace seeking specimens of Malayan fowls. Joseph Dalton Hooker is his sounding-board for botanical speculations and Thomas Henry Huxley soon takes up a similar role in matters of comparative anatomy and embryology. William Bernhard Tegetmeier is the provider of pigeons and poultry and Asa Gray dispatches from Massachusetts invaluable botanical data. Darwin fully exploits his gift for drawing the best from his correspondents and, collectively, their letters provide a remarkable survey of what was - and was not - believed about the nature and origin of species in the middle years of the nineteenthcentury.
This is the third volume of the complete edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. For the first time full authoritative texts of Darwin's letters are available, edited according to modern textual editorial principles and practice. The letters in this volume were written during the years 1844–6. By 1844 Darwin had become an established figure within the circle of London naturalists and his life at Down had assumed the regularity that the responsibility for a thriving and growing household entailed. Despite his move to rural Kent, Darwin was not isolated, and this volume shows how frequent were his trips to London and further afield, how regular his meetings with his scientific colleagues, and how extensive his network of correspondents.
The Correspondence of Charles Darwin Parts 1 and 2 Hardback: Volume 16, 1868: Parts 1 and 2
by Charles Darwin
Published 26 June 2008
Charles Darwin depended on correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom he never met in person. In January of 1868, Darwin's Variation Under Domestication was published. The first printing of 1500 copies rapidly sold out and the publisher, John Murray, ordered a second printing. Responses to this new book, added to Darwin's continuing research into sexual selection and the expression of the emotions, increased the quantity of Darwin's correspondence to such an extent that the letters from 1868 fill two volumes. The letters he wrote and received during this year are presented here in chronological order across two volumes, with notes and appendices to put them into context, explain references, and provide information on related works. For information on the Charles Darwin Correspondence Project, see http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk.
The correspondence in this volume is dominated by the public and private response to the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species. Volume 8 opens with Darwin eagerly scrutinising each new review, as one by one all the major organs of the day carried notices of the book. To those who express their views privately in letters, Darwin responds patiently and thoughtfully, answering their objections and attempting to guide their fuller understanding of the operation of natural selection. His more personal thoughts emerge in letters to his friends Joseph Dalton Hooker, Charles Lyell, and Thomas Henry Huxley. This volume presents a wealth of detailed information, giving the full range of response to the Origin and revealing how the Victorians coped with a theory that many well recognised would revolutionise thinking about the organic world and human ancestry.
The correspondence in this volume reveals Darwin carefully monitoring the response to The Origin of Species. Early in 1861 he completed the preparation of a third and much-revised edition, using the opportunity to answer his critics. As these letters make clear, Darwin understood the importance of support from younger scientists for the future of his theory. Darwin's long-time supporters - including Asa Gray, Charles Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker - also feature largely in his correspondence. Escaping the confines of collating and writing up his work on variation in domesticated animals and plants, Darwin plunged into detailed studies of insectivorous plants and orchid pollination. On a more personal side, the correspondence details Darwin in the role of solicitous father ensuring a secure future for his son William. The letters in Volume 9 provide another indispensable collection for those interested in Darwin's life, work and world.
Volume 28, 1880
by Charles Darwin and The Editors of the Darwin Correspondence Project
Published 16 March 2021
This volume is part of the definitive edition of letters written by and to Charles Darwin, the most celebrated naturalist of the nineteenth century. Notes and appendixes put these fascinating and wide-ranging letters in context, making the letters accessible to both scholars and general readers. Darwin depended on correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom he never met in person. The letters are published chronologically. In 1880, Darwin published On The Power of Movement in Plants, and began writing his final book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms. He was engaged in controversy with Samuel Butler, following publication of his last book, Erasmus Darwin. At the end of the year, he succeeded in raising support for a Civil List pension for Alfred Russel Wallace, co-discoverer of the theory of natural selection.
This volume is part of the definitive edition of letters written by and to Charles Darwin, the most celebrated naturalist of the nineteenth century. Notes and appendixes put these fascinating and wide-ranging letters in context, making the letters accessible to both scholars and general readers. Darwin depended on correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom he never met in person. The letters are published chronologically. In 1881, Darwin published his final book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms. He reflected on reactions to his previous book, The Power of Movement in Plants, and worked on two papers for the Linnean Society on the action of carbonate of ammonia on plants. In this year, Darwin's elder brother, Erasmus, died, and a second grandchild, also named Erasmus, was born.
This volume is part of the definitive edition of letters written by and to Charles Darwin, the most celebrated naturalist of the nineteenth century. Notes and appendixes put these fascinating and wide-ranging letters in context, making the letters accessible to both scholars and general readers. Darwin depended on correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom he never met in person. The letters are published chronologically. Darwin died in April 1882, but was active in science almost up until the end, raising new research questions and responding to letters about his last book, on earthworms. The volume also contains a supplement of nearly 400 letters written between 1831 and 1880, many of which have never been published before.