The Correspondence of Charles Darwin: Volume 5, 1851–1855

The correspondence in this volume reveals the two sides of Darwin's life with new intensity.

Charles Darwin (Author), Frederick Burkhardt (Edited by), Sydney Smith (Edited by)

9780521255912, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 February 1990

752 pages
23.4 x 15.6 x 4.5 cm, 1.375 kg

"It is difficult to imagine historians of modern science, or of any period, who would not find these volumes worth reading." Jane R. Camerini, Isis

The correspondence in this volume reveals the two sides of Darwin's life in a new intensity. It opens with a family tragedy in the death of Darwin's oldest and best loved daughter, Anne, and goes on to show how Darwin sought relief from his loss through work, with a single-minded but increasingly weary commitment to the completion of his cirripede monographs. In September 1854, as soon as the final proofs of the last barnacle volume had been returned to the printer, Darwin threw himself into a resumption of his species work. He followed up old ideas by initiating new experiments and establishing a worldwide correspondence that encompassed geographical distribution, variation, and plant and animal breeding. The wealth of letters through 1855 makes evident the frenzy of intellectual activity that followed Darwin's terse announcement in his diary: 'Sept. 9th (1854) began sorting notes for Species Theory …'

List of illustrations
List of letters
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Note on editorial policy
List of provenances
Darwin/Wedgwood genealogy
Abbreviations and symbols
Part I. The Correspondence, 1851-55: Appendices
Manuscript alterations and comments
Bibliography
Biographical register and index to correspondents
Index.

Subject Areas: Evolution [PSAJ], History of science [PDX]