To John Murray   9 [February 1862]1

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

Sunday 9th.

My dear Sir

I will send up to you by a servant tomorrow (Monday) the M.S of my Orchid Book, excepting the last Ch. which can be fully completed before I get first proofs.—2

For Heavens sake be careful of the M.S. for I have no copy of three of the Chapters.—

Inside parcel you will see letter of Instructions to Messrs. Clowes;3 please read & modify as you think fit.—

Urge Messrs. Clowes to print quickly , as I am incapable of changing my work & want to get on with my other Books.—4

Now I have finished the Orchids, I can say with confidence that the M.S. contains many new & very curious facts & conclusions.— I have done my best to make the facts striking & clear. I think they will interest enthusiasts in Nat. History; but I fear will be too difficult for general public. In short, I know not in the least, whether the Book will sell.5 If it prove a dead failure, I shall hold myself to a large extent responsible for having tempted you to publish with your eyes shut.— Perhaps there may be enough enthusiasts to prevent a dead failure⁠⟨⁠.⁠⟩⁠

My dear Sir | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

Endorsement: ‘1862’

1
The month is established by the relationship to the letter to W. E. Darwin, 14 February [1862]. See also letter to H. W. Bates, 27 February [1862].
2
Orchids was published on 15 May 1862 (see ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 10, Appendix II)).
3
William Clowes & Sons was the London printing firm used by John Murray.
4
CD refers to his planned three-part work on natural selection, of which Origin was an ‘abstract’. In the summer of 1861, he had interrupted work on Variation, the first part of the projected work, to write Orchids (see Correspondence vol. 9, Appendix II).
5
Though well-reviewed, Orchids sold slowly (Freeman 1977, p. 112). In first suggesting the book to Murray, CD had used the most tentative of terms, warning that interest in the book was likely to be limited (see Correspondence vol. 9, letters to John Murray, 21 September [1861] and 24 September [1861]).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 (Monday)] interl
1.2 fully] interl
4.1 quickly,] after del ‘pretty’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3442,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3442