Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE - MACAW COTTAGE
CHAPTER TWO - PTERODACTYL PIE
CHAPTER THREE - NATURAL HISTORY OF BABIES
CHAPTER FOUR - YOUNG CROCODILES
CHAPTER FIVE - THE GALLOPING TUNE
CHAPTER SIX - FAITH, CRICKET, AND BARNACLES
CHAPTER SEVEN - WORLDS AWAY FROM HOME
CHAPTER EIGHT - THE FRETFULNESS OF A CHILD
CHAPTER NINE - THE LAST WEEKS IN MALVERN
CHAPTER TEN - LOSS AND REMEMBERING
CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE DESTROYING ANGEL
CHAPTER TWELVE - THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
CHAPTER THIRTEEN - GOING THE WHOLE ORANG
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - GOD’S SHARP KNIFE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - THE DESCENT OF MAN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - TOUCHING HUMBLE THINGS
NOTES
Acknowledgements
PICTURE CREDITS
INDEX
“An engrossing book, a biography with a difference. . . Keynes gives an excellent overview of Victorian writings on medicine, religion, and science as they bore on the question of disease and death, especially the deaths of children, which raised with particular sharpness the question of God’s intention and benevolence. . . . Above all, Keynes sets Darwin’s lonely progress in his researches on species directly in the context of family love and loss.” —The Sunday Telegraph (London)
“In this intimate portrait. . . the great-great-grandson of the scientist, Keynes uses published documents as well as family papers and artifacts to show how Darwin’s thinking on evolution was influenced by his deep attachment to his wife and children. In particular, his anguish over his ten-year-old daughter Annie’s death sharpened his conviction that the operation of natural laws had nothing to do with divine intervention or morality. Keynes shows that much of Darwin’s intellectual struggle in writing On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man arose from his efforts to understand the role of suffering and death in the natural order of the world. . . . A moving tribute to a thinker who, despite intimate acquaintance with the pain inflicted by the ‘war of nature’ could still marvel that, from this ruthless struggle, ‘endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.’ ” —Publishers Weekly
“Though there have been innumerable biographies of Darwin, there cannot have been any warmer portrayals of his humanity and his desire to discover meaning in human existence.” —The Irish Times
“Above all this is a love story: the love of Charles and Emma . . . and the love of both for their children.” —The Times (London)
“Fascinating . . . This is a wonderful portrait of a Victorian family in all its aspects . . . so extraordinary and so revealing.”—Birmingham Post (UK)
“It is a rare biography that reveals the key emotional moment in its subject’s personal and intellectual life so clearly as Randal Keynes does for Charles Darwin. . . .What makes this book so moving and illuminating is the way Keynes tracks his subject’s emotional development and, more generally, shows how much his scientific thinking was influenced by his wife, Emma, and their ten children. . . . Besides its contribution to the intellectual history of Darwinism, [it] is a delightful portrayal of mid-nineteenth-century family life.”
—Financial Times
“The evolution of Darwin’s theories played out against the evolution of his family life—in a graceful and insightful biography by the naturalist’s great-great-grandson. . . . [The book] will do much to burnish Darwin’s reputation as a husband and father; his scientific bona fides continue to stand tall.” —Kirkus Reviews
“One of the most remarkable moving biographies of recent years.”
—The Scotsman
“Sensitively told, this is a deeply human story in which Darwin, the caring father and husband, emerges with as much esteem as Darwin the great scientist.” —The Northern Echo
“Rigorously, tenderly, Randal Keynes recounts the most emotional moments in Darwin’s career. He opens up the sacred interiors of Darwin’s marriage and family life to show how he drew on his heart-rending experiences to shed light on the evolution of human nature.”
—James Moore, coauthor of Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist
“[Creation] is . . . committed to humanizing a man whose personal life has inevitably become locked out of history. Keynes has reclaimed the piece of the past he aimed for. His bright and devoted biography makes the iconic, elevated figure of his great-great-grandfather seem entirely human [and] reminds us how difficult it is for any modern reader to even crudely imagine how much of a threat Darwin’s views posed to the dominant beliefs of the day. Keynes absorbs himself into the period totally, and, in his dogged reconstruction of the Darwin family tree, creates an epic sense of lineage. His meticulous arrangement of notebook extracts supply [the book] with both its structure and its intimacy. The extensive quotations from personal journals and letters—particularly the correspondence between Darwin and his wife in the build-up to Annie’s death—for a surprising emotional weight at the book’s heart.”
—Scotland on Sunday
“Unique . . . a fascinating, detailed picture.” —Sunday Mail
Randal Keynes is a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin and a great-nephew of economist John Maynard Keynes. He lives and works in London. This is his first book.
Annie Darwin in 1849
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First published in England by Fourth Estate Limited as Annie’s Box: Charles Darwin, His Daughter and Human Evolution.
First Riverhead trade paperback movie tie-in edition: December 2009
eISBN : 978-1-101-15952-1
Keynes, Randal.
Darwin, his daughter & human evolution / Randal Keynes.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-101-15952-1
1. Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882. 2. Drawin, Charles, 1809-1882
—Family. 3. Darwin
f amily. 4. Naturalists—England—Biography. 5. Evolution (Biology).
QH31.D2 K
576.8’093—dc21
[B}
http://us.penguingroup.com
For M.E.K.
1890-1974
“Much love, much trial…”
CHARLES DARWIN TO JOSEPH HOOKER,
27 NOVEMBER 1863
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Darwins
Bernard (1876-1961)—Francis’s son, Charles and Emma’s grandson. Brought up by Emma and Charles after his mother, Amy, died of puerperal fever. Essayist and journalist for The Times.
Caroline (1800-88)—Charles’s elder sister. Brought up Charles after their mother died when he was eight. Married their cousin Josiah Wedgwood III in 1837. During Annie’s childhood and afterwards, lived with her husband and their children at Leith Hill Place in Surrey.
Catherine (1810-66)—Charles’s younger sister. Lived at the family home in Shrewsbury until 1863 when she married her cousin Charles Langton.
Charles Waring (1856-8)—Charles and Emma’s last child. Died of scarlet fever.
Elizabeth (Betty in childhood, later Bessy) (1847-1928)—Charles and Emma’s fourth daughter. Unmarried.
Erasmus (1731-1812)—Charles’s grandfather. Physician and inventor.
Erasmus Alvey (Ras) (1804-81)—Charles’s older brother. Unmarried. Lived in London.
Francis (1848-1925)—Charles and Emma’s third son. Botanist. His first wife was Amy Ruck, who died after giving birth to their son Bernard.
George (1845-1912)—Charles and Emma’s second son. Mathematician.
Gwen (1885-1957)—George’s elder daughter, Charles and Emma’s granddaughter. Married Jacques Raverat. Artist and writer of Period Piece.
Henrietta (Etty) (1843-1929)—Charles and Emma’s third daughter. Married R. B. Litchfield. Writer of Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters.
Horace (1851-1928)—Charles and Emma’s fifth son. Designer of scientific instruments.
Leonard (1850-1943)—Charles and Emma’s fourth son. Soldier and MP.
Margaret (1890-1974)—George’s younger daughter, Charles and Emma’s granddaughter. Married Geoffrey Keynes.
Robert (1766-1848)—Charles’s father. Physician in Shrewsbury.
Susan (1803-66)—Charles’s elder sister. Unmarried. Lived at the family home in Shrewsbury until her death.
William (Willy) (1839-1914)—Charles and Emma’s eldest son. Banker.
Wedgwoods
Alfred (1842-92)—Son of Hensleigh and Fanny. Annie’s first cousin.
Allen (1796-1882)—Son of Charles and Emma’s uncle, John Wedgwood. Vicar of St. Peter’s, Maer.
Amy (1835-1910)—Daughter of Francis. Annie’s first cousin.
Cecily (1837-1917)—Daughter of Francis. Annie’s first cousin.
Charlotte (1792-1862)—Emma’s elder sister. Married Charles Langton as his first wife.
Clement (1840-89)—Son of Francis, Annie’s first cousin.
Elizabeth (Bessy) (1764-1846)—Emma’s mother, née Allen.
Elizabeth (1793-1880)—Emma’s eldest sister. Unmarried. Lived with her parents at Maer while they were alive, then at Hartfield in Sussex, and spent her last years in Downe.
Ernest (Ernie) (1838-98)—Son of Hensleigh and Fanny. Annie’s first cousin.
Fanny (1800-89)—Wife of Emma’s brother Hensleigh. Daughter of Sir James Mackintosh, philosopher and historian.
Fanny (1806-32)—Emma’s elder sister.
Francis (Frank) (1800-88)—Son of Josiah II. Emma’s elder brother. Took over the firm after their father’s retirement. Lived with his family at Barlaston in Staffordshire.
Henry (Harry) (1799-1885)—Son of Josiah II. Emma’s elder brother. Barrister and writer of The Bird Talisman.
Hensleigh (1803-91)—Son of Josiah II. Emma’s elder brother. Married Fanny Mackintosh and lived in London.
Hope (1844-1935)—Daughter of Hensleigh and Fanny. Annie’s first cousin.
James (“Bro”) (1834-64)—Son of Hensleigh and Fanny. Annie’s first cousin.
Josiah I (1730-95)—The master potter. Established the firm of Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd at Etruria in Staffordshire.
Josiah II ( Jos) (1769-1843)—Emma’s father. Took over the company when his father died, and lived at Maer Hall in Staffordshire.
Josiah III ( Joe) (1795-1880)—Emma’s eldest brother. Married Caroline Darwin and lived at Leith Hill Place with their children.
Julia (“Snow”) (1833-1913)—Hensleigh and Fanny’s eldest daughter, Annie’s cousin. Unmarried. Essayist.
Katherine Euphemia (Effie) (1839-1934)—Daughter of Hensleigh and Fanny. Annie’s first cousin.
Lucy (1846-?)—Daughter of Josiah II and Caroline. Annie’s first cousin.
Margaret (Greata) (1843-1937)—Daughter of Josiah II and Caroline. Annie’s first cousin. Married the Reverend Arthur Vaughan Williams. Ralph Vaughan Williams was their son.
Sarah (1776-1856)—Youngest daughter of Josiah I, Emma and Charles’s aunt. Unmarried. Lived in Downe from 1847 until her death.
Sophy (1842-1911)—Daughter of Josiah II and Caroline, Annie’s first cousin. Lived at Leith Hill Place.
Susannah (1765-1817)—Charles’s mother. Josiah I’s eldest daughter. Married Robert Darwin.
Thomas (Tom) (1771-1805)—Son of Josiah I. Friend of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Other Relatives and Friends
Fanny Allen (1781-1875)—Emma’s mother’s sister. Unmarried.
Robert FitzRoy (1805-65)—Naval officer. Captain of HMS Beagle from 1828 to 1836.
William Darwin Fox (1805-80)—Charles’s second cousin. With him at Cambridge University in the 1820s. Vicar of Delamere in Cheshire. His wife died in 1842 giving birth to their sixth child.
Henry Holland (1788-1873)—Emma and Charles’s second cousin. Physician to Queen Victoria.
Joseph Hooker (1817-1911)—Botanist. Director of Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, from 1865 to 1885.
Charles Lyell (1797-1875)—Geologist.
Jessie Sismondi (1777-1853)—Emma’s mother’s sister. Married to the Swiss historian Jean Charles de Sismondi.
Annie’s writing case
INTRODUCTION
A CHILD’S WRITING CASE. The pale yellow ribbon curled inside is stitched with small glass beads. The goose-feather quills have dried ink on their tips, and the sealing wax has been melted over a candle flame. On the ribbon and the quills lies a fold of paper with a thick lock of fine brown hair. On the paper is written “April 23rd 1851.” And on a leaf torn from a pocketbook is a map of a churchyard: “Annie Darwin’s grave at Malvern.”
The writing case was Annie’s, and is filled with her things. She was Charles and Emma Darwin’s first daughter. She died when she was ten. Charles wrote a “memorial” of her, and Emma kept the case to remember her by. It was passed down to my father, one of their great grandsons.
I came across the case one day when I was looking through a box of family odds and ends. I was struck by a note in Charles’s untidy scrawl. He had headed it “Anne” and wrote how she felt every day and night during her last months. She was often well but he noted when she was distressed. “Late evening tired and cry.” “Early morning cry.” “Poorly in morning.” It was haunting to sense how he had been watching her day after day, night after restless night.
I found other traces of Annie’s life in Charles and Emma’s notebooks and letters. In the pages that follow I piece together a jigsaw of her childhood, and tease out some of Charles and Emma’s feelings and ideas through the years after her death. I draw links with Charles’s thinking about human nature, both before and after her short life. He learnt from his feelings for her about the lasting strength of the affections, the paradox of pain, the value of memory and the limits of human understanding.
There is one idea at the heart of my account. Charles’s life and his science were all of a piece. Working at home on things he could study there, spen
ding every day with his wife, children and servants, living at a time when science meant knowledge and understanding in the broadest view, and dwelling on issues that bear directly on the deepest questions about what it is to be human, he could not keep his thinking about the natural world apart from feelings and ideas that were important to him in the rest of his life.
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