From C. E. C. B. Appleton 18 May [1870]1
New Club, | 9, Spring Gardens. S.W.
18th. May
Dear Sir,
I have found considerable difficulty in getting a thoroughly competent reviewer of Mr. Wallace’s recent book for ‘the Academy’, because I was unwilling to trouble you with a request to do it.2 Mr. Bates however, with whom I have been sitting this afternoon has led me to hope that as the book contains a new chapter in which the application of your great theory to man is directly called in question, you might be induced to criticize this portion of it with some detail.3
The rest of the book being mainly composed of old essays requires little beyond a description of its contents, & a statement how far the views are up to the mark of present knowledge. The smaller additions & emendations, the references to which are collected together in the preface, shd. be cursorily noticed, but the main stress of the criticism shd. be made to bear upon the heretical chapter. Indeed I wd. not mind having this noticed exclusively.
As to time I have no desire to hurry you: take your own time to write down the views which you no doubt have already formed respecting this chapter. But a review from you, & on such a subject will be such a treat for my readers that I really do trust that you will not refuse my request. The little note you sent me for No I was most acceptable & did much good to the Journal.4
Believe me Dr Sir | Very truly yours | C. Appleton | Editor.
C. Darwin Esq.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Marginalia: Charles Darwin’s marginalia. Edited by Mario A. Di Gregorio with the assistance of Nicholas W. Gill. Vol. 1. New York and London: Garland Publishing. 1990.
Summary
Asks CD to review Wallace’s recent book of essays [Natural selection (1870)], particularly the new essay, which questions the applicability of natural selection to man.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-7193
- From
- Charles Edward Cutts Birchall Appleton
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- New Club
- Source of text
- DAR 159: 79
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7193,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7193.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 18