From John Murray   28 January [1867]1

Albemarle St

Jany 28

My Dear Sir

Pray put yourself at ease about the publication of your new book.2 I will publish it for you coute qui coute provided you will be content that I pay you one half the profits of the edition instead of a sum down at first—3 This I ask because—no doubt there is considerably greater risque in this than in the publication of your former works.—4

This work is not intended nor likely to become generally popular but I think after the sale of 6000 of your “Origins” I can count upon 500 purchasers of these new volumes—the “Pièces Justificatives” on wch that work is founded & I wd propose to print an Edition of 750 copies5—in the size type & page of Lyells Principles— like wch it will make 2 volumes 8vo.6

I have heard from my literary friend—but have not yet got back the MS.S from him— He certainly finds it difficult of digestion but he is not a man of science so his opinion is not a fair test altogether—7 Still in the face of it, I venture to submit to you the above proposal.

I am My Dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | John Murray

I hope to return the MS. this week | JM

Charles Darwin Esq

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to John Murray, 27 January [1867].
2
For CD’s concern regarding whether Murray would publish Variation, see the letter to John Murray, 27 January [1867] and n. 3. Murray had also assured CD he would publish the work in his letter of 9 January [1867].
3
When Murray published the fourth edition of Origin in 1866, he agreed to pay CD two-thirds of the profits when half of the copies had been sold; for earlier editions of Origin, CD had received that sum on publication (see Correspondence vol. 14, letter from John Murray, 24 February [1866]). On CD’s astute management of royalty payments for his books, see Browne 2002, pp. 97, 461. Murray misspelled coûte que coûte (‘at all costs’).
4
CD had also expressed concern that Variation might not appeal to the public (see Correspondence vol. 13, Correspondence vol. 14, especially letters to John Murray, 22 February [1866] and 21 and 22 December [1866], and this volume, letter to John Murray, 3 January [1867]).
5
According to Freeman 1977, pp. 122–3, Murray published 1500 copies of Variation in January 1868, but these sold out in one week, most to booksellers; another 1250 copies (with some changes inserted by CD) were issued in February 1868.
6
Murray refers to the tenth edition of Charles Lyell’s Principles of geology (C. Lyell 1867–8; see letter from John Murray, 2 January [1867]).
7
Murray refers to John Milton. See letter to John Murray, 27 January [1867] and n. 1.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5380,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5380