Overview
- Authors:
-
-
Anthony W. D. Larkum
-
University of Sydney School of Biological Sciences, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
- New material on the life of Charles Darwin
- A fresh look at one of the most important biographical sources for the life of Charles Darwin
- A fascinating account of the lives of two Victorian naturalists
- A biographical account of the life of Charles Darwin contrasted with his clergyman cousin, William Darwin Fox
- A new look at the man who introduced Charles Darwin to beetles, William Darwin Fox
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Access this book
Other ways to access
About this book
From 1965–1968, I held an Agricultural Research Council Research Fellowship at Christ’s College, Cambridge. Later in 1981, when I was a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge and renewed my contacts with Christ’s College, my friend and colleague David Coombe, a Fellow of Christ’s College, informed me that a collection of letters of Charles Darwin had just been - covered in the Library storeroom, underneath the College. I had always maintained an interest in Charles Darwin, from the early age of thirteen, when I had rst read his books, with I might say some dif culty! This collection was the 155 letters of Charles Darwin to his second cousin William Darwin Fox, which had been given in trust to the College, in 1909, by members of the Fox family at the time of the Darwin Centenary celebrations. I was allowed access to these 155 letters and at that time made my own tr- scriptions. It seemed to me that this was a magni cent account of the lives of two naturalists of the nineteenth century, starting at the time that they were at Christ’s together, in 1828, and going to 1880 when W D Fox died – just two years short of the death of Charles Darwin in 1882. Of course this valuable resource had not gone unnoticed before. Darwin’s son, Francis Darwin had been given the letters in the 1880s, when he was preparing his Life and Letters of Charles Darwin in 3 volumes.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article
Open access
28 January 2015
Table of contents (8 chapters)
-
Front Matter
Pages I-XLVI
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Back Matter
Pages 421-576
Reviews
From the reviews:
“Larkum (Univ. of Sydney, Australia) has structured this work around 155 letters … written by Charles Darwin to his second cousin, William Darwin Fox, from 1828 to 1880, the year of Fox’s death. Larkum supplements this treasure trove with a few surviving letters Fox wrote to Darwin, Fox’s letters to family members and other naturalists, and his diaries. … This book’s unique material will appeal to biologists and historians. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and above.” (J. S. Schwartz, Choice, Vol. 47 (7), March, 2010)
Authors and Affiliations
-
University of Sydney School of Biological Sciences, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
Anthony W. D. Larkum