Summary: Darwin finds the perfect mate in his first-cousin Emma, who becomes his comforter, editor, mother of his 10 children—and sparring partner. Charles and Emma were on opposite sides when it came to the role of God in creation. The Darwin family letters and papers craft a full-bodied look at the personal influences that shaped Charles’ life as he worked mightily to shape his theories. This intersection between religion and science is where the book shines, but it is also an excellent portrait of what life was like during the Victorian era, a time when illness and death were ever present, and, in a way, a real-time example of the survival of the fittest.
Henry Holt
Tags: 2009, Henry Holt, non-fiction
