An informal talk at the Cambridge University Press Shop on the importance of Charles Darwin’s letters to his work, with many illustrations from the Darwin collections in Cambridge.
Shortly after his return from the Beagle voyage, Darwin moved to the tiny village of Down and rarely left. Letters were vital to his scientific work as a medium of observation, conversation, friendship, and debate. This talk explores the role of correspondence as a forum of private discussion and exchange away from the more celebrated public controversies that surrounded his work. Darwin engaged many people who were 'non-scientific' by vocation, and letters show the diverse meanings that his work had for people of widely different background--practical, commercial, religious, and moral.
The speaker is Dr Paul White, an editor on the Darwin Correspondence Project and staff member of the Cambridge University Library. The talk will be held in the CUP Bookshop which stocks many publications on Darwin and the history of science, including the complete edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. A window display will also celebrate Darwin’s life and contributions to science.
Darwin in Conversation: The Endlessly Curious Life and Letters of Charles Darwin
This event is being hosted as part of Cambridge University Libraries exhibition, Darwin in Conversation: The Endlessly Curious Life and Letters of Charles Darwin (Saturday 9 July-Saturday 3 December). The exhibition is free and open to all. Full details including opening times can be found here.
Location: Cambridge University Press Shop, 1 Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1SZ
Accessibility: Step-free access available, more details here
Registration: Free, open to all. Registration required: BOOK HERE
Date: Tuesday 11 October 2022