Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters

Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters 1792-1896 is a book in two volumes, edited by Henrietta Litchfield about her mother, Emma Darwin (née Wedgwood) and letters from their family. It was originally privately published in 1904 as Emma Darwin, Wife of Charles Darwin: A Century of Family Letters, but was publicly published under the shorter title in 1915 by John Murray.[1][2]

Dramatis personae

Mother's family

The book covers the life of Emma Darwin (1808–1896) but starts from 1796 with Emma's family background and the nine Allen sisters of Creselly, Pembrokeshire, and their two brothers. These, Emma's mother, aunts and uncles, were the children of John Bartlett Allen (1733–1803), and his first wife (married 1763) Elizabeth (née Hensleigh, c. 1738-1790), Emma's maternal grandparents:

  • Elizabeth Allen (1764–1846), mother of Emma Darwin and the wife of Josiah Wedgwood II.
  • Catherine Allen (1765–1830) aunt, known as Kitty; second wife of Sir James Mackintosh)
  • Caroline Allen (1768–1835), aunt, married Rev. Edward Drewe
  • John Hensleigh Allen (1769–1843), uncle, sometime Whig Member of Parliament
  • Louisa Jane Allen (1771–1836), aunt, also known as "Jenny", married John Wedgwood, the brother of Josiah Wedgwood II.
  • Lancelot Baugh Allen (1774–1853), uncle, Master of Dulwich College.
  • Harriet Allen (1776–1845), aunt, wife of Matthew Surtees, Rector of North Cerney.
  • Jessica Allen (1777–1853), aunt, known as "Jessie"; wife of Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi
  • Octavia Allen (1779–1800), aunt, died aged 20 unmarried, predeceasing Emma's birth.
  • Emma Augusta Allen (1780–1864), aunt, unmarried.
  • Frances Allen (1781–1875), aunt, known as "Fanny"; unmarried.

John Hensleigh Allen (uncle) had the following children (first cousins to Emma):

Sir James and Lady Mackintosh (aunt) had the following children, also first cousins to Emma:

Caroline Drewe, (aunt), had the following children, also first cousins to Emma:

Father's family

Josiah Wedgwood, Emma's paternal grandfather had the following children:

  • Susannah Wedgwood (1765–1817), aunt, married Dr Robert Darwin - Charles Darwin, Emma's husband and first cousin, was their son.
  • John Wedgwood (horticulturalist) (1766–1844), uncle, married Jane Allen.
  • Josiah Wedgwood II (1769–1843), father, married Elizabeth Allen.
  • Thomas Wedgwood (1771–1805), uncle.
  • Catherine (Kitty) (1774–1823), aunt, was unmarried.
  • Sarah Elizabeth (1778–1856), aunt, was unmarried.

Reception

The book also contains many letters from the correspondence of Charles Darwin, Emma's husband. It is therefore a very early example of a Darwin Industry book, along with The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin which was edited by Charles's son (and Etty's brother) Sir Francis Darwin, and More Letters of Charles Darwin edited by Frank and A. C. Seward.

The book was dedicated by Etty to her niece, Emma's granddaughter, Frances Cornford.

The Times described it as "an admirable piece of work, in which the editor, while largely effacing herself, yet gave a notable picture of an interesting family life".[3]

The book was reviewed in The Eugenics Review by A. C. Seward who concluded that the book "bring[s] to us into the closest touch with wise and attractive personalities and at the same time they record facts of great scientific interest".[4]

In R. B. Freeman's Charles Darwin bibliography, he noted that the publication "contains a large number of letters from Charles and is an important source of information about his day to day and family life".[5]

The 1915 edition also contains a brief biography of Erasmus Darwin IV, Emma's grandson who had been recently killed in the First World War.[6]

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References
  1. Ward, Humphry (October 1915). "Review of Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters, 1792-1896, edited by her daughter, Henrietta Litchfield, 2 vols". The Quarterly Review. 224: 540–554.
  2. Litchfield, Henrietta, ed. (1915). Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters, 1792–1896. vols. 1 & 2. London: John Murray.
  3. The Times, Saturday, December 24, 1927; pg. 10; Issue 44773; col B
  4. "Emma Darwin: a century of family letters, 1792-1896". The Eugenics Review. 7 (4): 300. PMC 2987148.
  5. http://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions/Freeman_EmmaDarwin.html
  6. "Erasmus Darwin (1881–1915)". Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters, 1792–1896. vol. 2. 1915. pp. i–vi.
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