To J. D. Hooker 8 February [1860]
Down Bromley Kent
Feb— 8th
My dear Hooker
The extract from Naudin, which I owe to Mrs Hooker’s kindness, was amply & more than amply sufficient.—1 Pray thank her also for her nice little note received yesterday which has pleased me much.— I am very sorry to hear about the price of your Introduction; it seems very high, but I suspect that it contains much more matter or words than anyone would at first think. Your presentation copies will cost you a little fortune.— It is really a horrid shame to think that after all your immense labour that you should be heavily fined in hard cash.—2
By an odd chance, on my honour it was only night before last, I was thinking to myself how you could work up your published materials into one volume. It seemed to me very difficult; but I thought you might make a new Essay, & beginning by a sketch of the general great affinities & classification of the great orders, & then pass on to their geographical Distrb. & Geological Succession. And add a chapter on effect on Landscape.— But I clearly foresaw that you would object to the noble art of compiling; but for a general subject surely compiling is necessary. You know how I admire a Compiler! Such a Book would be very difficult; & style would come much into play; & yet I believe you could, if you would, produce a grand Book of the kind.—
You did not answer my query about date of publication of Essay, but I have put down December 1859, & that ends my little Historical sketch.—3
Farewell my dear Hooker | Ever your affect | C. Darwin
I walked home with Grove from last Royal Soc. meeting4 & he harangued me to that extent I was half-dead, & he did not at all clearly see what he was talking about. I had thought you rather unjust about Grove; I humbly axe your pardon.—
From a talk a year or two ago, I am sure he then saw nothing about means of modification, & he knew nothing of difficulties—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Origin US ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. A new edition, revised and augmented by the author. By Charles Darwin. New York: D. Appleton. 1860.
Summary
Urges JDH to work his essays into a book.
CD’s historical sketch ends with JDH’s introductory essay to Flora Tasmaniae.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2689
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 115: 39
- Physical description
- ALS 6pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2689,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2689.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 8