Emma Darwin

by Loy, James D.

• ISBN13: 9780813034782
• ISBN10: 0813034787
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-19
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Florida

Summary

A glimpse into the private home life of the Darwins "A sensitive, intelligent portrait of Emma Darwin and her life at the centre of Victorian science."--Emma Darwin, author ofA Secret Alchemy "Succeeds brilliantly in discovering the poignant story of Emma Darwin and describing the extraordinaryhousehold over which she presided."--Keith Thompson, author ofThe Young Charles Darwin "Emma Darwin emerges in this well-researched and thoughtful biography as a figure of calm strength, whose very nature and story help make possible Charles Darwin's revolutionary work. The Darwin marriage emerges as a remarkable portrait of 'symmetrical and unconditional love.'"--Kay Young, University of California, Santa Barbara In 1808, Josiah Wedgewood II, owner and general manager of the famous pottery and china manufactory that bore his name, welcomed an eighth child into his large, vibrant family. This daughter, Emma, had a relatively happy childhood and grew up intelligent, educated, and religious. A talented sportswoman and an accomplished pianist, she married her cousin Charles Darwin at the age of thirty, bore ten children in their forty-three years together, and patiently nursed her famous husband through mysterious and chronic illnesses. Informed by her strong Christian faith as well as her quick, inquiring mind, Emma learned to coexist with her husband's radical scientific theories, though she worried about the fate of Charles's soul. Although the high spirits of her youth were somewhat dampened by the cares of life, she managed family and household affairs--including the difficult circumstances surrounding the death of three children--with courage, gravity, and a sense of humor. In this charming volume, the wife, companion, and confidante of the father of evolution comes into full focus. Drawing upon Emmars"s personal correspondence as well as the abundant literature about her husband, authors James Loy and Kent Loy reveal the fascinating story of an exceptional woman who remained true to herself despite hardship and who, in the process, humanized her work-obsessed husband and held her family together.

Author Biography

James D. Loy is professor of anthropology at the University of Rhode Island. Kent M. Loy is a freelance writer.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Genealogies	p. xii
The Family Circle	p. 1
The Two Dovelies	p. 8
A Woman of the World	p. 24
A Traveling Cousin, a Doveley's Death, and the Abolition of Slavery	p. 40
The Return of the Beagle and "The day of days!"	p. 57
Bride, Mother, Nurse	p. 77
Narrow Lanes and High Hedges	p. 97
The Old Order Changeth	p. 109
A Dear and Good Child	p. 121
The Great Exhibition, War in the Balkans, and the Last of the Barnacles	p. 133
For Better or Worse, in Sickness and in Health	p. 148
Midwiving the Origin	p. 164
A Banker in the Family	p. 178
Lives Lived, Lives Lost, and Closure at Malvern	p. 193
A Book about Man, and Henrietta Takes a Husband	p. 209
Two Weddings, Four Funerals, and the Fiendish Mr. Ffinden	p. 227
An Irreparable Loss	p. 242
"Our Secure Happiness...Shattered"	p. 267
Life at a Lower Pitch	p. 284
The Life and Letters	p. 302
Banting, Books, and the Queen's Jubilee	p. 320
The Leos Abroad, and the Last Maerite Left Standing	p. 339
The Last Wind of the Watch	p. 354
Acknowledgments	p. 371
Notes	p. 375
Bibliography	p. 413
Index	p. 423
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