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Darwin Correspondence Project

To Arthur Nicols   [after 24 February 1876]1

Excuse brevity, I have many letters daily to write

I agree with all you say about being led to enquire as foundation of observation.2

Publisher3

Quite right then not to attack tradition beliefs, however absurd

Your idea seems a good one & well carried out—& I shd think & hope attractive to the young—as far as I can judge— I have made 1 or 2 pencil memoranda—where your statements seem to me rather strong4

Footnotes

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Arthur Nicols, 24 February 1876.
2
See letter from Arthur Nicols, 24 February 1876. Nicols had sent CD a chapter of his proposed book and outlined his approach to writing on scientific topics for children.
3
Nicols had asked CD’s advice about getting a publisher. His book, The puzzle of life, was published by Longmans, Green, and Co. (Nicols 1877).
4
CD evidently returned the manuscript of the chapter with his comments.

Bibliography

Nicols, Arthur. 1877. The puzzle of life and how it has been put together: a short history of vegetable and animal life upon the earth from the earliest times: including an account of pre-historic man, his weapons, tools, and works. London: Longmans, Green & Co.

Summary

Supports AN’s idea [of a natural history book for children].

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-10409
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Robert Arthur (Arthur) Nicols
Sent from
Down
Source of text
DAR 172: 65/1v

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10409,” accessed on 16 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10409.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24

letter

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