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Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest

Summary

The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…

Matches: 24 hits

  • … The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the …
  • … promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ). The profits for Darwin were …
  • … first two printings, Darwin wrote to Murray on 20 March 1871 , ‘It is quite a grand trade to be a …
  • … in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). Reaction …
  • … to read it ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 19 February 1871 ). The African explorer and …
  • … pleasant or not’ (letter from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871). The geologist William Boyd Dawkins …
  • … to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). Thomas Henry Huxley marvelled that …
  • … tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). Asa Gray remarked, somewhat …
  • … and pointed ears”  (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) Like his previous book,  …
  • … arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 ). Samples of hair arrived from …
  • … his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 April 1871] )). Hinrich Nitsche, ‘the lucky …
  • … orang-utan foetus ( letter from Hinrich Nitsche, 18 April 1871 ). Darwin thought he might use the …
  • … poor return’ ( letter to Hinrich Nitsche, 25 April [1871] ). Animal anecdotes appeared in …
  • … space each morning ( letter from Arthur Nicols, 7 March 1871 ; letter from B. J. Sulivan, 11 …
  • … of beauty ( letter from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 April 1871] ). Roland Trimen, a long-time …
  • … in the past ( letter from Roland Trimen, 17 and 18 April 1871 ). Candid disagreement …
  • … were raised to a high pitch, as Innes wrote on 26 May 1871 about the darker races arising …
  • … as far as this goes’ ( letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). On religion and morality …
  • … Creator made it’ ( letter from George Morrish, 18 March 1871 ). Darwin received an anonymous …
  • … Descent  ( letter from a child of God, [after 24 February 1871] ). Yet some continued to …
  • … by the presence of its master. ( Letter from Hensleigh Wedgwood, [3–9 March 1871] .) Some …
  • … agreement is a satisfaction to me’ ( letter to Hensleigh Wedgwood, 9 March 1871 ). A …
  • … home, Leith Hill Place in Surrey, and CD’s niece Lucy Wedgwood collected and weighed the dried …
  • … & sherry’ ( letter from H. E. Litchfield to Charles and Emma Darwin, [5 November 1871] ). Her …

Julia Wedgwood

Summary

Charles Darwin’s readership largely consisted of other well-educated Victorian men, nonetheless, some women did read, review, and respond to Darwin’s work. One of these women was Darwin’s own niece, Julia Wedgwood, known in the family as “Snow”. In July…

Matches: 13 hits

  • to his work. One of the foremost was his niece, Julia Wedgwood. She was the eldest child of
  • on religion and Eliots irregular private life. Wedgwoods  The Moral Ideal , the outcome
  • management and free her to devote her time to her work. Emma Darwin was irritated by Wedgwood family
  • said, “to have been something larger than I am”. Wedgwoods reactions to Darwins work went
  • of Science”, about  On the Origin of Species . Wedgwood welcomed Darwins discoveries and sought
  • rare event with my critics”. ( Charles Darwin to F. J. Wedgwood, 11 July [1861] .) Wedgwood
  • her conclusion she reclaimed Darwin as a Theist. When Fanny Wedgwood disclosed the reviews
  • of sexual selection] with approbation.” ( Charles and Emma Darwin to F. J. Wedgwood, [March 1871?] …
  • religion in the biography of him Frank Darwin was preparing, Wedgwood was invited by her cousin, …
  • sons rejected it as not what Darwin had written and Wedgwood stepped back from the continuing family
  • caused great offence to the Darwin sons but was accepted by Emma Darwin, with whom Wedgwood remained
  • the head”. Sources: Sue BrownJulia Wedgwood, the unexpected Victorian: the
  • Nineteenth Century Series, 2022) Jose Harris, ‘Wedgwood, (Frances) Julia (18331913)’, …

Darwin’s queries on expression

Summary

When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…

Matches: 16 hits

  • … Blair, R.H. 11 July 1871 Worcester College for the …
  • … Brooke, C.A.J. 30 April 1871 Sarawak, Borneo …
  • … Chaumont, F.S.B.F. de 11 March 1871 Woolston, …
  • … Crichton-Browne, James 3 April 1871 West Riding …
  • … Donders, F.C. 28 March 1871 Utrecht, Netherlands …
  • … Foster, Michael 4 June [1871] Trinity College, …
  • … Gray, Asa 14 April 1871 Cambridge, Massachusetts, …
  • … Gray, Asa 10 & 14 March [1871] Cambridge, …
  • … Abbey Place, London, England letter to Emma Darwin baby expression …
  • … Penmaenmawr, Conway, Wales letter to Emma Darwin infant daughter …
  • … Mivart, G.J. 26 Jan 1871 North Bank, London, England …
  • … Reade, Winwood W. 1 Feb 1871 11 St Mary Abbot's …
  • … Rejlander, O.G. [1871] Victoria Street, London, …
  • … Smith, Andrew 1 Feb. 1871 11 Saint Mary Abbot's …
  • … Smith, Andrew 17 April 1871 16 Alexander Square, …
  • … Swinhoe, Robert 14 March 1871 33 Oakley Square, …

Women’s scientific participation

Summary

Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…

Matches: 8 hits

  • … her observations on the expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 …
  • … Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 November 1868] Darwin …
  • … Letter 8113 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [20 December 1871] Mary Treat describes her …
  • … E. to Darwin, W. E., [January 23rd 1887]: Emma Darwin tells her eldest son, William, …
  • … E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March, 1862 - DAR 219.1:49) Emma Darwin updates her son, William, …
  • … Letter 7605  - Darwin to Darwin,  H. E., [20 March 1871] Darwin reports to …
  • … Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …
  • … is a great critic”, thought the article worth reprinting, Emma was less convinced. Letter …

Henrietta Darwin's diary

Summary

Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…

Matches: 9 hits

  • … wrote the following journal entries in March and July 1871 in a small lockable, leather-bound …
  • … by Henrietta herself. Darwin’s letters in 1870 and 1871 ( Correspondence , vols 18 and 19) …
  • … missions due to take place between 26 February and 5 March 1871 in four towns within the deanery of …
  • … on the expression of emotion (see letters from F. J. Wedgwood to H. E. and C. R. Darwin, [1867–72], …
  • … written one of  Descent  (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to F. J. Wedgwood, [March 1871?] …
  • … University Library. Henrietta Darwin | March 1871 1871 March— Sea Grove …
  • … away what they have no equivalent for. July 4th 1871. How hard it is to wait—the …
  • … I think I am a very happy woman. Sunday July 9 th . 1871 I want to think why I shd …
  • … mission leaders in the  Hampshire Advertiser , 21 January 1871, p. 7. 4 Probably John …

Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small

Summary

In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…

Matches: 14 hits

  • … and was no longer able to take his daily strolls (Henrietta Emma Litchfield, ‘Charles Darwin’s death …
  • … E. Litchfield to G. H. Darwin, 17 March 1882 (DAR 245: 319)) Emma wrote ten days later: ‘You will …
  • … been a good deal plagued with dull aching in the chest’ (Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin, [ c . 28 …
  • … benefit & he escaped pain entirely yesterday’ (letter from Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin, 6 April …
  • … wrote to George, who had visited Down on 11 April (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)). ‘Father was taken …
  • … H. Darwin, [19 April 1882] (DAR 245: 320)). It was left to Emma to convey the sorrowful news to his …
  • … which I hope were never very violent’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [20 April 1882 …
  • … they were the most overflowing in tenderness’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, 10 May 1882 …
  • … was eagerly awaited by his family, including his cousin Emma Wedgwood. In long letters to her sister …
  • … plied him with questions without any mercy’ ( letter from Emma Wedgwood to F. E. E. Wedgwood, [28 …
  • … steps’ ( letter to Alexander Agassiz, 28 August [1871] ; see also Correspondence vol. 19, …
  • … names to appear’ ( letter to Louisa Stevenson, 8 April 1871 ). It was Darwin’s name that was …
  • … who had undertaken observations years earlier. In 1871, he had asked Henry Johnson to observe the …
  • … vol. 19, letter to Henry Johnson, 23 December 1871 , and Earthworms , pp. 221–8). Darwin …

Darwin and the Church

Summary

The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…

Matches: 14 hits

  • … and various dissenting establishments. In the Darwin and Wedgwood households, formal adherence to …
  • … the late 1830s, and in correspondence with his fiancée, Emma Wedgwood, in 1838 and 1839, as can be …
  • … of England. The whole family took the sacrament, although Emma used to make the children turn around …
  • … and Charles were buried; later Darwin’s brother Erasmus, Emma’s sister Sarah, Emma herself, and …
  • … church involvement can be attributed to the influence of Emma, whose religious scruples are …
  • … [1850] and n. 6; and letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). Their true friendship does …
  • … request favourably—’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871 ). Indeed Innes had such a high …
  • … school and organ funds (letter to J. B. Innes, 13 January 1871 ). Down’s next clergyman …
  • … very dull sermons’ (letter to J. B. Innes, 18 January [1871] ). Mr Powell was happy to take up …
  • … qualifications’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 5 June 1871 ). Particularly in the early days of …
  • … Ffinden strongly disapproved of the Darwins. In his eyes, Emma’s Unitarian leanings and Darwin’s …
  • … schools in this period, the Down school was Anglican. Emma wished it to be used as a reading room …
  • … even altered the habits of the household in order to allow Emma and the children to attend his …
  • … increase his desire to actually attend Sunday services with Emma and the children. Darwin’s life in …

What did Darwin believe?

Summary

What did Darwin really believe about God? the Christian revelation? the implications of his theory of evolution for religious faith? These questions were asked again and again in the years following the publication of Origin of species (1859). They are…

Matches: 20 hits

  • … into such territory in this letter to a stranger. Emma Darwin In what is …
  • … matters many years earlier with his cousin and fiancée, Emma Wedgewood. In their correspondence, …
  • … but we gain a sense of what the couple discussed from Emma’s words to him: My reason …
  • … It is clear from other correspondence that one of Emma’s most cherished beliefs was in an afterlife. …
  • … she means so in eternity. There is a marked tension in Emma’s letter between reason and feeling, and …
  • … to himself, and allowed his differences of belief with Emma to remain for the most part submerged. …
  • … members of the Darwin family, offer a fuller perspective on Emma’s religious beliefs. The documents …
  • … over Scriptural or doctrinal authority, as a foundation for Emma’s views. They also show that Emma’s …
  • … was another important religious tradition in the Darwin and Wedgwood families. Josiah Wedgwood, who …
  • … Unitarian school in Shrewsbury. The circle with whom he and Emma socialised when in London included …
  • … were regular guests of Darwin’s brother Erasmus, and of Emma’s brother, Hensleigh Wedgwood and his …
  • … liturgy. But we know, from Francis Darwin’s comments, that Emma used to make the family turn round …
  • … to recite the creed, with its Trinitarian formula. Emma’s copy of the New Testament, …
  • … to have been inauthentic, or added by later authors. Emma’s Bible also contains some …
  • … as practical’. Some of the Biblical commentary that Emma and Charles read in this period …
  • … written to Charles several months after their marriage, Emma suggests an appreciation for earnest …
  • … nature and to revelation, like the openness that Charles and Emma so valued between each other–this …
  • … or on the origin of human races in  Descent of man  (1871). Some leading Darwinians found …
  • … through his early discussions on religion and science with Emma, to his publications on evolution, …
  • …  (London: John Murray). Darwin, Charles. 1871.  Descent of man and selection in relation to …

Darwin and vivisection

Summary

Darwin played an important role in the controversy over vivisection that broke out in late 1874. Public debate was sparked when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought an unsuccessful prosecution against a French physiologist who…

Matches: 6 hits

  • … heart’ ( Correspondence vol. 19, letter to ?, 19 May [1871] ). As a magistrate in Down, he had …
  • … subscriber to the RSPCA, he had campaigned with his wife Emma against the use of steel traps on game …
  • … vol. 19, letter to E. R. Lankester, 22 March [1871] ). In the same year, Darwin had published …
  • … (men of course) or I might get one or two’ (letter from Emma Darwin to F. P. Cobbe, 14 January …
  • … after night, prepares and sets instruments of torture’ ( Emma Darwin (1904) 2: 201). …
  • … of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1871 that outlined principles for …

Women as a scientific audience

Summary

Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…

Matches: 6 hits

  • … E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March 1862 - DAR 219.1:49) Emma Darwin updates her eldest son, …
  • … to Darwin, E., [8 November 1872] Ann Cupples asks Emma to pass on thanks to Darwin for …
  • … Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin, [25 March 1871] Mary Bathoe responds …
  • … Letter 7644 - Barnard, A. to Darwin, [30 March 1871] J. S. Henslow’s daughter, …
  • … 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to Darwin, [before 26 April 1871] The poet Emily Pfeiffer …
  • … Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, [7 November 1871] Sarah Hennell writes to Darwin …

Science: A Man’s World?

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…

Matches: 4 hits

  • … In these notes, written shortly before his courtship with Emma, Darwin weighed the pros and cons of …
  • … of physiology at Bedford College for girls. Appealing to Emma’s “feminine sympathies”, Cresy is keen …
  • … Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, [7 November 1871] Sarah Hennell writes to Darwin …
  • … Letter 8079 - Norton, S. R. to Darwin, [20 November 1871] Sarah Norton passes on to …

Religion

Summary

Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…

Matches: 3 hits

  • … members of his own family. Letter 441 — Wedgwood, Emma to Darwin, C. R., [21–22 Nov …
  • … conscientious doubts”. Letter 471 — Darwin, Emma to Darwin, C. R., [c. Feb 1839] …
  • … Letter 8070 — Darwin, C. R. to Abbot, F. E., 16 Nov [1871] Darwin explains why he must …

Darwin in public and private

Summary

Extracts from Darwin's published works, in particular Descent of man, and selected letters, explore Darwin's views on the operation of sexual selection in humans, and both his publicly and privately expressed views on its practical implications…

Matches: 7 hits

  • … in relation to sex , (London: John Murray, 1st ed., 1871), vol. 1., pp. 207 – 208. 3) “Man …
  • … and has a more inventive genius…”   Descent (1871), vol. 2, pp. 316 – 317. 4) …
  • … greater tenderness and less selfishness…” Descent (1871), vol. 2, pp. 326 – 327. 5) “The …
  • … merely the use of the senses and hands….”  Descent (1871), vol. 2, pp. 327. 6) “…Thus man …
  • … is in ornamental plumage to the peahen.”   Descent (1871), vol. 2, pp. 328 – 329. 7) …
  • … chiefly to her adult daughters….”  Descent (1871), vol. 2, p. 329. 8) “Man is more …
  • … should have gained the power of selection…” Descent (1871), vol. 2, pp. 371 – 372. …

Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year

Summary

The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…

Matches: 7 hits

  • … satisfaction. Assisted in the wording by his wife, Emma, and daughter Henrietta, he finally wrote a …
  • … fourth son, Leonard, who had joined the Royal Engineers in 1871, went to New Zealand as photographer …
  • … a comfortable cabin ( see letter from Leonard Darwin to Emma Darwin, [after 26 June -- 28 September …
  • … to become Darwin’s secretary. They rented Down Lodge and Emma Darwin wrote, ‘They have . . . made …
  • … the average in prettiness & snugness’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October …
  • … letter to Down School Board, [after 29 November 1873] ). Emma saw a ‘great blessing’ in the rumour …
  • … dead uncle’s position of vicar of Deptford ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October …

Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex

Summary

The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … at Cambridge, George Robert Crotch, writing to his mother Emma in a letter dated [after 16 October …
  • … Langton wrote from the south of France to Sarah Elizabeth Wedgwood on 9 Novembe r, describing …
  • … and received a number of reports from family members. Emma Darwin’s niece, Cicely Mary Hawkshaw, …
  • … old daughter Katherine ( letter from C. M. Hawkshaw to Emma Darwin, 9 February [1868] ). Darwin’s …
  • … other national papers, and within a few days Darwin and Emma were receiving letters of …

Virginia Isitt: Darwin’s secretary?

Summary

In an undated and incomplete draft letter to a “Miss I.”, Emma Darwin appears to be arranging for Miss I. to come to Down for a trial period as a secretary. When the letter first came to light, no one had heard of the mysterious “Miss I.” and, as far as we…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … an undated and incomplete draft letter to a “Miss I.”, Emma Darwin appears to be arranging for Miss …
  • … 95), helped to date the draft and identify Miss I. Emma wrote to her daughter Henrietta on 17 …
  • … in education at the Convent College in Arras. In 1871, Darwin was receiving letters relating …
  • … had recently married. So, it is possible that he and Emma were more than usually receptive to the …
  • … we don’t know how the experiment worked out. According to Emma Darwin’s diary, Miss Isitt arrived on …

Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health

Summary

On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’.  Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … garden, taking notes by dictation. His niece Lucy Caroline Wedgwood sent observations of  …
  • … household news, were sometimes written by Darwin’s wife, Emma, or by Henrietta. Darwin’s own replies …
  • … case of Dimorphism’ in  Menyanthes  ( letter from Emma and Charles Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [20 …
  • … of man , and selection in relation to sex ( Descent ) in 1871. Along with other publications in …
  • … he saw few people outside the family and, according to Emma Darwin’s diary and his own ‘Journal’, …

Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?

Summary

'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . .  What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…

Matches: 2 hits

  • … of man and selection in relation to sex , published in 1871, these books brought a strong if …
  • … out such a litany of ill health to one correspondent that Emma protested: `My wife commands me to …

Volume appendices

Summary

Here is a list of the appendices from the print volumes of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin with links to adapted online versions where they are available. Appendix I in each volume contains translations of letters in foreign languages and these can…

Matches: 2 hits

  • … Correspondence between Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood I, concerning the properties of ice …
  • … 19 VI Henrietta Emma Darwin’s journal 1871

Darwin as mentor

Summary

Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…

Matches: 2 hits

  • … Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 March 1871] Darwin reports booming sales of …
  • … book’s “lucid vigorous style”. In consultation with Emma, Darwin offers Henrietta “some little …
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