The Darwin Family Letters

The Universal Library has posted Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters 1792-1896, volume II online. Among the nuggets here, to his niece, Henrietta, Charles Darwin writes:

DEAR HENRIETTE,

I was thinking of sending a scolding card when your note pacified me. Your news is not very cheerful, everyone ill, and I hope London will have a good effect upon your constitutions. Olivier has not as yet sent his remedies [concert tickets].

I have been reading Wallace in the Academy, and it seems to me there is a good deal to answer in it if possible. I think the way he carries on controversy is perfectly beautiful, and in future histories of science the WallaceDarwin episode will form one of the few bright points among rival claimants.…

Indeed, A.R. Wallace went back to his adopted home in Indonesia and continued to study island biogeography while Charles Darwin took natural selection and adapted and expanded the concept. Fascinating reading.

----------------
Now playing: Steve Hackett - The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere
via FoxyTunes

Hollywood Reporter Review of Creation

The Hollywood Reporter has a favorable review of the movie Creation, the story of Charles Darwin and his relationships with his wife and children and the struggle in writing On the Origins of Species. Ray Bennett writes:

Thanks to the writing, pacing and Bettany's nuanced performance, it is one of the best delineations of intellectual and emotional struggle seen on film in many a year. The actor's scenes with Annie and Emma have an extraordinary tenderness that grips the heart just as Darwin's scientific dilemma engages the brain. West is unaffected and winning as the girl, and Connelly, with a perfect English accent, shows the wife's anguish as well as her undying loyalty.

Sure wish I could see it.

----------------
Now playing: Michael W. Smith - For You
via FoxyTunes