One of the most important biographical sources for the life of Charles Darwin are the letters and diaries of Darwin's cousin William Darwin Fox. In the new book A Natural Calling: Life, Letters and Diaries of Charles Darwin and William Darwin Fox, Anthony Larkum provides a biographical and historical account of the letters exchanged by these two men. Presenting fresh factual material on Charles Darwin, it gives a fascinating account of the lives of these two Victorian naturalists.
The diaries of W.D. Fox have never been accessed before now. In A Natural Calling, the life of Fox is carefully pieced together and compared and contrasted with that of Darwin. Since Darwin and Fox were undergraduates together at Christ's College, Cambridge, and corresponded with each other for the rest of their lives, dying within two years of each other, the diaries allow us a vivid insight into the unique relationship of these two naturalists and family friends.
Both were studying to be clergymen of the Church of England when Darwin was offered a place on The Beagle. Thereafter their lives diverged, as Fox became the country parson that Darwin might have been. Nevertheless, Fox supplied many facts to Darwin, which were used in the 'Origin of Species' and later books. The views and opinions exchanged between these two men greatly enlarge our appreciation of the life and contribution of Charles Darwin at a profoundly personal level.
Anthony W.D. Larkum began life in London and received all his basic academic training in the UK. After graduating from Oxford with a DPhil, he spent three years as a research fellow in a plant biophysics laboratory in Cambridge working on photosynthesis and chloroplasts. He has a long-held interest in the history and philosophy of biology. Central to this is an interest in evolution and the contributions of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. He is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Sydney in Australia.
Anthony W. D. Larkum
A Natural Calling
Life, Letters and Diaries of Charles Darwin and William Darwin Fox
2009. XLVI, 520 p.
Hardcover. EUR 99.95, £ 89.99, $ 139.00
ISBN 978-1-4020-9232-9
Contact: Joan Robinson, tel +49-6221-4878130, joan.robinson@springer.com