Ɛpsilon

From Charles Edward Cutts Birchall Appleton   2 March [1870]1

St. John’s Coll. Oxford

Mar 2

“The Academy.”

Dear Sir,

You were kind enough to send us a valuable notice of your forthcoming work for the first number of the Academy,2 & I now write to ask you to be so kind as to send me a note or two of anything important which may have recently come before you & not yet been published, or about any researches you may be engaged in &c.

I send the enclosed circular round every where in Europe—& hope to get this side of our enterprize very complete in time.3 Any suggestions as to the conduct of the ‘Academy’ wh. wld make it more valuable e.g. to yourself, I shd. be very glad to receive.

An occasional review of a book, say once in a year or so from your pen—I scarcely like to ask for—yet it wd. delight Mr. Murray greatly, & be of the very greatest service to us. Do you care to say anything about Murphy’s book which touches upon your subjects?4

Should you be able to let me have a few lines for March, I ought to get it by Sunday morning here. | Believe me dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | C. Appleton | (Ed.)

C. Darwin Esq FRS

1
The year is established by the reference to the notice of Descent in the Academy, 9 October 1869, and by the relationship between this letter and the letter from C. E. C. B. Appleton, 18 May [1870].
2
See Academy 1 (1869–70): 15–16. The notice appeared under the heading ‘Scientific notes’ and described the book as consisting of three parts: I. The descent of man; II. On sexual selection; and III. On expression of the emotions.
3
The circular has not been found in the Darwin Archive–CUL.
4
CD’s reply has not been found, but he probably refused; see the letter from C. E. C. B. Appleton, 18 May [1870]. John Murray was one of the publishers of the Academy. Appleton also refers to Joseph John Murphy and his Habit and intelligence in their connexion with the laws of matter and force (Murphy 1869). This book was not reviewed in the Academy. CD discussed Alfred Russel Wallace’s review of Murphy 1869 (Wallace 1869d) in his letter to A. R. Wallace, 5 December [1869] (Correspondence vol. 17).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7125,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7125