''The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin'' is a book published in 1887 edited by

Francis Darwin Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born in Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the ...

about his father

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

. It contains a selection of 87 letters from the

correspondence of Charles Darwin The British naturalist Charles Darwin corresponded with his extended family and with an extraordinarily wide range of people from all over the world. The letters, over 15,000 in all, provide many insights on issues ranging from the origins of ...

, an autobiographical chapter written by Charles Darwin for his family, and an essay by

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The storie ...

"On the reception of the 'Origin of Species'". It was published by Darwin's publisher John Murray. The autobiographical chapter had begun as recollections, written for his own amusement and for his descendants, initially as 121 pages written between May and August, 1876, and expanded during the remaining six years of his life. It was edited by Francis to remove references to his father's views on religion. These were later reinstated and published as ''

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin ''The Autobiography of Charles Darwin'' is an autobiography by the English naturalist Charles Darwin. Darwin wrote the text, which he entitled ''Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character'', for his family. He states that he star ...

'' in 1958 by Charles's granddaughter (and Francis's niece)

Nora Barlow Emma Nora Barlow, Lady Barlow (née Darwin; 22 December 1885 – 29 May 1989), was a British botanist and geneticist. The granddaughter of the British naturalist Charles Darwin, Barlow began her academic career studying botany at Cambridge und ...

. The book was the first real biography of Charles Darwin, excepting obituaries, and thus the foundation of the

Darwin Industry The Darwin Industry refers to historical scholarship about, and the large community of historians of science working on, Charles Darwin's life, work, and influence. The term "has a slightly derogatory connotation, as if the scale of the research ...

. Further volumes of letters followed - '' More Letters of Charles Darwin'' in 1903. Charles's wife Emma Darwin's correspondence was published by Charles and Emma's daughter (Frank's sister)

Henrietta Litchfield Henrietta Emma Litchfield (née Darwin; 25 September 1843 – 17 December 1927) was a daughter of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma Wedgwood. Henrietta was born at Down House, Downe, Kent, in 1843. She was Darwin's third daughter and the eldest dau ...

in 1905/1915 as '' Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters''. The book received extensive reviews in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' The book was later described by ''

'' as "one of the best biographies ever written" and "In the selection and arrangement of the material he rancis Darwinwas chiefly guided by a wish to portray his father's personal character, and he succeeded in a remarkable degree in giving a true picture of the man and the student, the methods of Darwin's work and the gradual development of his opinions."The Times, Monday, Sep 21, 1925; pg. 14; Issue 44072; col D

Correspondents

Letters to and/or from the following 27 men and one woman are included: *

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

* H. W. Bates *

H. G. Bronn Heinrich Georg Bronn (3 March 1800 – 5 July 1862) was a German geologist and paleontologist. He was the first to translate Charles Darwin's ''On the Origin of Species'' into German in 1860, although not without introducing his own interpretation ...

Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (28 October 18064 April 1893) was a French-Swiss botanist, the son of the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. Biography De Candolle, son of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, first devot ...

W. B. Carpenter William Benjamin Carpenter CB FRS (29 October 1813 – 19 November 1885) was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London. Life Carpenter was born ...

* Emma Darwin (wife and cousin) *

Erasmus Alvey Darwin Erasmus Alvey Darwin (29 December 1804 – 26 August 1881), nicknamed ''Eras'' or ''Ras'', was the older brother of Charles Darwin, born five years earlier. They were brought up at the family home, The Mount House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Eng ...

(brother) * Thomas Davidson * William Darwin Fox (cousin) * Hugh Falconer *

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

J. S. Henslow John Stevens Henslow (6 February 1796 – 16 May 1861) was a British people, British priest, botanist and geologist. He is best remembered as friend and mentor to his pupil Charles Darwin. Early life Henslow was born at Rochester, Kent, the ...

* Joseph Dalton Hooker *

Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet, FRS (27 October 1788 – 27 October 1873) was a British physician and travel writer. Early life Born in Knutsford, Cheshire, Holland was the son of the physician Peter Holland (1766–1853) and his wife Mary ...

(cousin) *

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The storie ...

* Leonard Jenyns *

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...

* John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury *

Maxwell Masters Maxwell Tylden Masters FRS (15 April 1833 – 30 May 1907) was an English botanist and taxonomist. He was the son of William Masters, the nurseryman and botanist of Canterbury and author of ''Hortus duroverni''.Desmond, R. (1994). ''Dictiona ...

John Murray II John Murray (27 November 1778 – 27 June 1843) was a Scottish publisher and member of the John Murray publishing house. He published works by authors such as Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Jane Austen and Maria Rundell. Life The publishing ...

* Joseph Prestwich * Rev.

J. M. Rodwell John Medows Rodwell (1808–1900) was a friend of Charles Darwin while both matriculated at Cambridge. He became an English clergyman of the Church of England and an Islamic studies scholar. He served as Rector of St.Peter's, Saffron Hill, Londo ...

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did on W ...

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural se ...

* Frederick Watkins * H. C. Watson

References

External links

* http://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions/Freeman_LifeandLettersandAutobiography.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, The 1887 non-fiction books John Murray (publishing house) books Books about Charles Darwin Correspondences