Chronicles a year that was enlivened by scientific controversy, and filled with scientific queries and discussions relating to Darwin's transmutation theory. His love of botany and his expanding experimental programme is well depicted by correspondence with professional botanists, horticulturalists, and hobbyists.
List of illustrations; List of letters; Introduction; Acknowledgments; List of provenances; Note on editorial policy; Darwin/Wedgwood genealogy; Abbreviations and symbols; The Correspondence, 1863; Appendixes; Manuscript alterations and comments; Biographical register and index to correspondents; Bibliography; Notes on manuscript sources; Index.
' ! one of the triumphs in scope and excellence of post-war publishing in England'. Sunday Times ' ! superb series ! beautifully produced, beautifully readable, efficiently indexed, supportively but not gossipily annotated.' The Times Literary Supplement ' ! admirably self-contained volumes, which one need not be a Darwin scholar to read with profit.' The New Yorker 'Every now and then ! publishing and academe work together to produce books so splendid that it seems ungrateful not to acquire them: this promises to be another such.' The Guardian 'An excellent piece of work.' Nature 'The editorial standards are as high as ever, and the complete letters continue to throw unexpected light on Darwin's career.' Trends in Ecology and Evolution ' ! this authoritative work is a model of scholarship in both its comprehensiveness and supporting documentation which provides a rich source of background, biographical and bibliographical detail.' The Naturalist