From W. W. Reade 3 April 1872
11 St. Mary Abbot’s Terrace | Kensington
April 3.—72
My dear Sir
I enclose a proof of the passage relating to yourself in my preface.1 I thought afterwards it would be better on your account not to say anything that wd. lead to the impression that my book contains a correct exposition of the Darwinian theory. At the same time I wished to convey so far as cd. be done my literary obligations to you—yet without making you responsible for my statements some of wh. are doubtless erroneous, & for my opinions with some of wh. you will I think disagree, or at all events you will not wish to be identified with them. If however there is anything in this passage which you dislike I will alter it— The statement you were kind enough to write will not be thrown away—2 I dare say I shall often travel over this ground again & I shall take care to put prominently forward the fact that according to your theory the faculties & affections though founded on selfishness pass out of the selfish stage— I quite understood that from your book, & I think I have expressed as much in my work—3 It will be out in ten days or so— Do not trouble to answer this unless you wish the Preface altered. The minor points I allude to are chiefly questions in relation to Sex. Select. producing dark skins &c. though I fully see its power as a modifying agent.4 Sex. select. among the Africans acts in this way—the chiefs selecting women to their taste—but no doubt in the semi-human period the females selected,
I remain | yours very truly | Winwood Reade
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Reade, William Winwood. 1872. The martyrdom of man. London: Trübner & Co.
Summary
Sends preface of his book [see 8241]; he acknowledges debt to CD, but does not claim to have given a correct exposition of Darwinism.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8272
- From
- William Winwood Reade
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Kensington
- Source of text
- DAR 176: 58
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8272,” accessed on 28 October 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8272.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 20