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John Murray

Summary

Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, particularly politics, travel and science, and had published…

Matches: 19 hits

  • and Beagle.  This had been published in London by Henry Colburn, but Darwin felt that the
  • probably at the end of 1845, Darwin was not happy with Colburns terms ( Letter 856 ). Instead he
  • John Murray, to open negotiations with his own publisher ( Letter 824 ). Lyells talk with Murray
  • have transacted the business with me’ (27 August [1845] Letter 908 ). Thus began the business
  • copies some pages in Darwins chapter were transposed ( Letter 1244 ). Darwin was anxious lest an
  • … & make the poor workman some present’ (12 June [1849] Letter 1245 ). Darwins next
  • hisbig species book’; on 18 June 1858, he received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace with the
  • asked Lyell to act as his intermediary with John Murray ( Letter 2437 ), who, without even reading
  • not repent of having undertaken it’ (15 October [1859] Letter 2506 ). Murray decided on a retail
  • proud at the appearance of my child’ ([3 November 1859] Letter 2514 ). In the event, all Murrays
  • … – and a second edition was immediately called for ( Letter 2549 ). In the end Murray paid Darwin
  • … (Variation ), but work progressed slowly ( Letter 3078 ); meanwhile in 1862 Murray published  On
  • Murray only offered Darwin half profits for this title ( Letter 3261 ); it was never a best-seller
  • … ‘I fear it can never pay’ (3 January [1867] Letter 5346 ). In the end Murray decided to print
  • to Brazil, the beginning of a life-long correspondence ( Letter 4881 ). Subsequently Darwin
  • the risk himself. Murray suggested printing 750 copies ( Letter 6597 ), but Darwin decided on 1000
  • fail, I think, to be much read’ (28 September [1870] Letter 7329 ). Murray decided to print 2500
  • hope to Heaven book will sell well’ (12 January [1871] Letter 7438 ). A second printing was
  • America, of St George Mivarts Genesis of species  ( Letter 7907 ) ;  this was Darwins

Journal of researches

Summary

Within two months of the Beagle’s arrival back in England in October 1836, Darwin, although busy with distributing his specimens among specialists for description, and more interested in working on his geological research, turned his mind to the task of…

Matches: 7 hits

  • which would form the basis of his publicationAfter Henry Holland, Darwins second cousin, pointed
  • published ’. The publisher of the Narrative, Henry Colburn, had also recognised that Darwins
  • Narrative . Journal of researches Colburn did not respect the terms of his
  • of Journal and remarks as well as both Darwins and Colburns frustration at the long delay in
  • full of good original wholesome food as an egg ’; William Henry Fitton considered the geology to be
  • Alexander von Humboldt, who wrote a long and appreciative letter about theexcellent et admirable
  • to different people ’. Never having received a penny from Colburn, Darwin had few scruples when, in

Darwin’s student booklist

Summary

In October 1825 Charles Darwin and his older brother, Erasmus, went to study medicine in Edinburgh, where their father, Robert Waring Darwin, had trained as a doctor in the 1780’s. Erasmus had already graduated from Cambridge and was continuing his studies…

Matches: 12 hits

  • … who had moved on to London for further medical training (see letter from E. A. Darwin, [29 …
  • … to date precisely. Darwin mentions reading  Granby  in a letter to his sister dated 29 January …
  • … on the History of Medical Substances  in 1812; William Henry, after some medical training in …
  • … work in 1879 Darwin judged it ‘a wretched production’ (letter to Ernst Krause, 19 March 1879 ); …
  • … practice. The remaining titles provide lighter fare. Henry Kirke White (1785–1806) died aged …
  • … Vol. 8 Vo Almack & Granby 16  6 Vols 12. mo Henry Chemistry 17  2 Vols 8 Vo …
  • … CD described Lister 1826 as an ‘entertaining book’ (see letter to S. E. Darwin, 29 January [1826] …
  • … a term used in Lister 1826 for younger sons. 17 Henry 1823. Volume 2 is in the Darwin …
  • … years 1819, 20, 21, and 22 . London: John Murray. Henry, William. 1823.  The elements of …
  • … William Blackwood. London: T. Cadell. Lister, Thomas Henry. 1826.  Granby . 3 vols. London. …
  • … Thomas. 1784–85.  Arctic zoology . 2 vols. London: Henry Hughs. Scoresby, William. 1820.  …
  • … roundheads . 3d ed. 3 vols. London: Colburn. White, Henry Kirke. 1826.  The life and …

Darwin in letters, 1821-1836: Childhood to the Beagle voyage

Summary

Darwin's first known letters were written when he was twelve. They continue through school-days at Shrewsbury, two years as a medical student at Edinburgh University, the undergraduate years at Cambridge, and the of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle.…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … fellows your friends at Barmouth must be’ ( see letter to J. M. Herbert, [13 September 1828] ). …

George James Stebbing

Summary

George James Stebbing (1803—1860) travelled around the world with Charles Darwin on board HMS Beagle and helped him with measuring temperature on at least one occasion. However, Stebbing barely registers in Darwin’s correspondence. The only mention omits…

Matches: 2 hits

  • … even his name, when Darwin told Alexander von Humboldt, in a letter of 1 November 1839, that he had …
  • … of the globe. Appendix to Volume II.  London: Henry Colburn. Holland, Julian. 2013. ' …

Darwin in letters, 1861: Gaining allies

Summary

The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. He had weathered the storm that followed the publication of Origin, and felt cautiously optimistic about the ultimate acceptance of his ideas. The letters from this year provide an…

Matches: 28 hits

  • … will do me & Natural Selection, right good service’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 26–7 Februrary [1861] …
  • … ‘barometer’ of scientific opinion, Charles Lyell ( see letter to Charles Lyell, 20 July [1861] ). …
  • … selection could not be ‘directly proved’ ( see second letter to J. D. Hooker, 23 [April 1861] ). …
  • … an important philosophical ally in John Stuart Mill. Through Henry Fawcett, a young Cambridge …
  • … was ‘the only one proper to such a subject’ ( letter from Henry Fawcett, 16 July [1861] ). Mill in …
  • … or against some view if it is to be of any service!’ ( letter to Henry Fawcett, 18 September [1861] …
  • … chapter on the imperfection of the geological record ( see letter to George Maw, 19 July [1861] ). …
  • … he planned to report ‘at a favourable opportunity’ ( letter from Joseph Leidy, 4 March [1861] ). …
  • … Undoubtedly, the news that most excited Darwin was word from Henry Walter Bates, recently returned …
  • … laboratory where Nature manufactures her new species’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 28 March [1861] ) …
  • … study of natural history was evident. He told Darwin in his letter of [1 December] 1861: …
  • … by insect enemies from which the other set is free’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 30 September 1861 ) …
  • … be a ‘very valuable contribution to Nat. History.—’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 4 April [1861] ). He …
  • … causes &c’, and ‘Monkeys,—our poor cousins.—’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 3 December [1861] ). …
  • … a view to obtaining ‘large distribution’ for the work ( letter to H. W. Bates, 25 September [1861] …
  • … with the controversy between Richard Owen and Thomas Henry Huxley concerning the anatomical …
  • … him on producing ‘a complete and awful smasher’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 January [1861] ). Ever …
  • … but he and Owen would ‘never be friends again’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 January [1861] ). …
  • … fully believe a better man never walked this earth’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 [May 1861] ). …
  • … could perhaps ‘throw some light on Hybridisation’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 16 September [1861] ). …
  • … the diversity & perfection of the contrivances.–-’ ( letter of [28 July–10 August 1861] ). …
  • … had ‘some direct bearing on the subject of species’ ( letter to Henry Fawcett, 18 September [1861] …
  • … whether I am not doing a foolish action in publishing’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 November [1861] …
  • … ‘it is such tedious work comparing skeletons—’ ( letter to Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefage de Bréau …
  • … on the subject had been ‘one long gigantic blunder’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 September [1861] …
  • … £800, and would so ‘be at once an almost rich man’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, [26 May 1861] ). The …
  • … of what was thought to be ‘a form of typhus fever’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 11 May 1860 ). This …
  • … of the ordnance survey, the ‘pleasant & distinguished’ Henry James. In Southampton, James …

Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network

Summary

The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…

Matches: 8 hits

  • … Government grant was exhausted ( Correspondence  vol. 2, letter to A. Y. Spearman, 9 October 1843, …
  • … are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [11 January 1844] ). …
  • … the essay of 1844 to read (see  Correspondence  vol. 4, letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 [February 1847]) …
  • … himself: as he told his cousin William Darwin Fox in a letter of [24 April 1845] , he felt he …
  • … Natural selection Perhaps the most interesting letter relating to Darwin’s species theory, …
  • … Darwin not only used his personal notes and records but, by letter, marshalled the resources of …
  • … were made for the rights of the work to be transferred from Henry Colburn, the original publisher, …
  • … of the laws of creation, Geographical Distribution’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 February 1845] ) …

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: 25 hits

  • … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
  • … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ).  Such …
  • … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
  • … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’  ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
  • … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
  • … the medium Charles E. Williams, and was attended by George Henry Lewes and Marian Evans (George …
  • … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
  • … George Darwin, the psychic researcher Frederick William Henry Myers, and Thomas Henry Huxley, who …
  • … that Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
  • … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
  • … Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). …
  • … edition, published in 1842 ( Correspondence  vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 …
  • … Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January …
  • … to take so sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March …
  • … sent an apology for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); …
  • … numbers and sex ratios among the Pitcairn islanders ( letter from William Dealtry, 16 January 1874 …
  • … will say that I have pounded the enemy into a jelly’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). …
  • … by none but anatomists; and never mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). …
  • … the return on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 …
  • … by the conciseness & clearness of your thought’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 20 April 1874 ). …
  • … legal action over the ‘scurrilous libel’ on his son ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [27 July 1874] ). …
  • … false, scurrilous accusation of [a] lying scoundrel’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ). …
  • … as father and son agonised over the wording of both the letter to the editor and the letter to …
  • … support the election of his nephew, the fine-art specialist Henry Parker ( letter from E. A. Darwin …
  • … to do—It is enough to kill anyone’, and asked Thomas Henry Farrer to attempt to influence the …

Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'

Summary

The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one 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…

Matches: 8 hits

  • … letters have suffered an even more severe loss. In a letter to Lyell’s sister-in-law, Katharine …
  • … of fact . . . on the origin & variation of species” ( Letter to J. S. Henslow, [November 1839] …
  • … that he had a sound solution to what J. F. W. Herschel in a letter to Lyell had called the ‘mystery …
  • … about searching for evidence to support his hypothesis. In a letter to Lyell, [14] September [1838 …
  • … just the same, though I know what I am looking for' ( Letter to G. R. Waterhouse, [26 July …
  • … there were no doubts as to how one ought to act’ ( Letter from Emma Darwin, [  c.  February 1839] …
  • … for several months (See  Correspondence  vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, 13 October 1834 , …
  • … notebook). See also Allan 1977, pp. 128–30). The letter, on ‘Double flowers’ to the  …

Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute

Summary

Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…

Matches: 31 hits

  • … the duke of Argyll, and an anonymous review by an engineer, Henry Charles Fleeming Jenkin, …
  • … arena. ‘Horrid tedious dull work’ Thomas Henry Huxley sent Darwin the New Year’s …
  • … suppose abuse is as good as praise for selling a Book’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 January [1867] …
  • … to the printer, but without the additional chapter. In a letter written on 8 February [1867] to …
  • … books,  Descent  and  Expression . In the same letter, Darwin revealed the conclusion to his …
  • … variation of animals and plants under domestication . In a letter to his son William dated 27 …
  • … of his brother’s embryological papers with his first letter to Darwin of 15 March 1867 , although …
  • … . Indeed, he told his publisher, John Murray, in a letter of 4 April [1867] , not to send …
  • … tell me, at what rate your work will be published’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). This …
  • … & sent to him, he may wish to give up the task’ ( letter to Carl Vogt, 12 April [1867] ). …
  • … fit person’ to introduce the work to the German public ( letter from J. V. Carus, 15 April 1867 ). …
  • … Vogt should translate my book in preference to you’ ( letter to J. V. Carus, 18 April [1867] ). …
  • … varieties at the eye, which resulted in a mottled hybrid ( letter from Robert Trail, 5 April 1867 …
  • … seems to me, if true, a wonderful physiological fact’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 April [1867] ). …
  • … it will be a somewhat important step in Biology’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 22 August [1867] ). …
  • … if you attack it & me with unparalleled ferocity’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 November [1867] …
  • … own discretion; anyhow most ought to be introduced’ ( letter to W. S. Dallas, 8 November [1867] ). …
  • … however, & I cannot get on so quickly as I could wish’ (letter from W. S. Dallas, 20 November …
  • … with me about 27 years old In a letter of 22 February [1867] to Fritz Müller in …
  • … chapter on the cause or meaning of Expression.’ With this letter Darwin enclosed a list of questions …
  • … ‘Queries about Expression’. In a postscript to the letter he added, ‘But you must not plague …
  • … that Darwin send his queries to foreign newspapers. The letter also reveals that he did not share …
  • … work in some “supplemental remarks on expression”’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [12–17] March [1867] …
  • … of no one to send them to, so do not want any more’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 April [1867] ). …
  • … for the year 1867. In his 15 April [1867] letter to Gray , Darwin commented, ‘I have been …
  • … further ( Variation  2: 75). In notes for his reply to a letter from Edward Blyth dated 19 …
  • … on sexual differences in mammals and birds. In his letter to Fritz Müller of 22 February [1867] , …
  • … topic on a theoretical level was Alfred Russel Wallace. In a letter to Wallace written on 23 …
  • … in his aviary to see whether this was the case ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1867] ). …
  • … The review had, in fact, been written by an engineer, Henry Charles Fleeming Jenkin, who had …
  • … memory loss, which caused Emma to consult his physician, Henry Bence Jones. Jones wrote reassuringly …

Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin

Summary

The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. This …
  • … friends like Charles Lyell, Joseph Dalton Hooker, and Thomas Henry Huxley, who each, in his own way, …
  • … has  infinitely  exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). …
  • … to choose from the load of curious facts on record.—’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). …
  • … as evidence for what actually occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and  …
  • … throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
  • … his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
  • … selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
  • … Even his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
  • … on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors have dated the letter 18 [June 1858]. However, the …
  • … McKinney has suggested that Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same …
  • … Brooks maintains that Darwin received Wallace’s letter even earlier, perhaps as early as 14 May. …
  • … of the Peninsular & Oriental Company, and assuming that the letter to Darwin was posted at the …
  • … 20 May via Southampton. According to Brooks, Darwin kept the letter for a month, during which time …
  • … at Down on 18 June. In the absence of Wallace’s letter or of any firm evidence for the date of its …
  • … work, and he shows no sign of anxiety. He says in a letter to Syms Covington, 18 May [1858], that he …
  • … ‘There is not least hurry in world about my M.S.’ In his letter to Hooker of 8 June [1858], he …
  • … of someone who is distressed, as Darwin clearly was in his letter to Lyell, at the prospect of …
  • … papers at the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858, including a letter from Wallace to Hooker thanking him …
  • … Darwin was during the days immediately following his letter to Lyell. On 18 June 1858, his eldest …
  • … of his material would require a ‘small volume’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 October [1858] ). …
  • … kidney beans’, to the  Gardeners’ Chronicle  (see letter to Gardeners’ Chronicle, [before 13 …
  • … for the work. Again, he called upon Lyell for advice ( letter to Charles Lyell, 28 March [1859] ). …

Darwin’s reading notebooks

Summary

In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…

Matches: 29 hits

  • … [Reimarius 1760] The Highlands & Western Isl ds  letter to Sir W Scott [MacCulloch 1824 …
  • … 1834–40]: In Portfolio of “abstracts” 34  —letter from Skuckard of books on Silk Worm …
  • … M rs  Fry’s Life [Fry 1847] Horace Walpoles letter to C t . of Ossory [Walpole 1848] …
  • … Asiatic Society ]—contains very little Macleay’s letter to D r  Fleming [Macleay 1830] …
  • … 1814]. Sense & S [Austen 1811]. Rich d . 2 d . poor. Henry IV [Shakespeare:  King Richard …
  • … [DAR *128: 180] Life of L d . Jeffrey. Colburn Cockburn [Cockburn 1852] Our …
  • … [Heer 1854].— Hooker has it.— Very important Hookers letter Jan. 1859 Yules Ava [Yule 1858] …
  • … 1857] (the best Travels I ever read) Sept. Froude Henry VIII [Froude 1856]. 4 vols very …
  • … printed notices pasted into the notebook. 26  Henry Peter Brougham, Baron Brougham and …
  • … of the material from these portfolios is in DAR 205, the letter from William Edward Shuckard to …
  • … ( Notebooks , pp. 319–28). 55  The letter was addressed to Nicholas Aylward Vigors …
  • … to William Jackson Hooker. See  Correspondence  vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [5 or 12 November …
  • … in December, 1841 . Oxford.  119: 13b Atkinson, Henry George and Martineau, Harriet. 1851 …
  • … in DAR 71: 150–1.]  128: 18 Borrow, George Henry. 1843.  The Bible in Spain; or, the   …
  • … 128: 9 Brooks, J. Tyrwhitt,  pseud.  (Henry Vizetelly). 1849.  Four   months among the …
  • … the gold districts . London.  119: 22b Brougham, Henry Peter. 1839.  Dissertations on …
  • … 119: 21b Broughton, William Grant. 1832.  A letter in vindication of   the principles of …
  • … 71: 125–7.]  *119: 18v.; 119: 8a, 21a Buckle, Henry Thomas. 1857.  History of …
  • … tribes.  London.  119: 21a Burgess, Thomas Henry. 1839.  The physiology or mechanism   …
  • … [Other eds.]  *119: 5v., 11v.; 119: 9a Cline, Henry. 1829.  Observations on the breeding …
  • …   observations . London.  119: 7a Cockburn, Henry. 1852.  Life of Lord Jeffrey, with a …
  • … [Other eds.]  *128: 180; 128: 5, 21 Coke, Henry John. 1852.  A ride over the Rocky …
  • … talk of the late   Samuel Taylor Coleridge . Edited by [Henry Nelson Coleridge]. 2 vols. London. …
  • … of Samuel Taylor   Coleridge . Collected and edited by Henry Nelson Coleridge. 4 vols. London.  …
  • … by Bekhur to   Garoo and the Lake Manasarowara: with a letter from … J.   G. Gerard, Esq. …
  • … 1830. On the dying struggle of the dichotomous sytem. In a letter to N. A. Vigors.  Philosophical …
  • … *119: 8v., 22v.; *128: 165 ——. 1850a. Letter to the Rev. John Bachman, on the question of …
  • … art of improving the   breeds of domestic animals. In a letter addressed to the   Right Hon. Sir …
  • … 1820.  Remarks on the improvement of   cattle, &c. in a letter to Sir John Saunders Sebright, …