The Correspondence of Charles Darwin: Volume 10, 1862

Description

As the sheer volume of his correspondence indicates, 1862 was a very productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments he carried out. The promotion of his theory of natural selection also continued: Darwin's own work on it expanded, Thomas Henry Huxley gave lectures about it, and Henry Walter Bates invoked it to explain mimicry in butterflies. As well as monitoring the progress of his scientific work, the correspondence also records the continuing effects of Darwin's ill-health. Serious illness in two of his children also disrupts his work.

'Latest volume in this authoritative work - a model of its kind - which covers a particularly busy and productive year in Darwin's life.' Naturalist ' ... a fitting tribute to this remarkable man.' M. R. D. Seaward, The Naturalist 'With all of its detail, its ferreting out of the minutiae of biographical and institutional detail, its superb appendices and informative supplementary essays, its exhaustive indexing, multiple bibliographies and biographical registers, its elegant style, the project deserves the highest of praise. This is a love of scholarship that easily matches Darwin's own performance. ... These volumes are indeed details - the level of scholarship that goes into each and every letter is truly astonishing. The research is exemplary.' Gordon McOuat, Annals of Science