The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin

The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin is a book published in 1887 edited by Francis Darwin about his father Charles Darwin. It contains a selection of 87 letters from the correspondence of Charles Darwin, an autobiographical chapter written by Charles Darwin for his family, and an essay by Thomas Huxley "On the reception of the 'Origin of Species'".

It was published by Darwin's publisher John Murray.

The autobiographical chapter 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 in 1958 by Charles's granddaughter (and Francis's niece) Nora Barlow.

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

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 in 1905/1915 as Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters.

The book received extensive reviews in The Times^[1] and The Manchester Guardian^[2]

The book was later described by The Times as "one of the best biographies ever written" and "In the selection and arrangement of the material he [Francis Darwin] was 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."^[3]

Correspondents

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

References

↑ The Times, Saturday, Nov 19, 1887; pg. 7; Issue 32234; col A The Life Of Darwin.
↑ http://search.proquest.com/docview/482522672?accountid=53498[]
↑ The Times, Monday, Sep 21, 1925; pg. 14; Issue 44072; col D

External links

http://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions/Freeman_LifeandLettersandAutobiography.html

Charles Darwin

Life	Darwin–Wedgwood family Education Voyage on HMS Beagle Inception of theory Development of theory Publication of theory Reactions to On the Origin of Species Orchids to Variation Descent of Man to Emotions Insectivorous Plants to Worms Portraits of Darwin Religious views Health

Writings	Extracts from Letters to Henslow The Voyage of the Beagle Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection On the Origin of Species Fertilisation of Orchids Geological Observations on South America Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Insectivorous Plants The Power of Movement in Plants The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms Autobiography Correspondence The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin More Letters of Charles Darwin List of described taxa

Related	Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation History of biology History of evolutionary thought History of geology Pangenesis Darwin Industry Commemoration Things named for Darwin Darwinism Social Darwinism HMS Beagle

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