Emma Darwin, Wife of Charles Darwin. Volume 2: A Century of Family Letters. Cambridge Library Collection. Life Sciences

Originally published in 1904, A Century of Family Letters was compiled by Henrietta Emma Litchfield, the daughter of Charles and Emma Darwin. The work provides an intimate, curated glimpse into the domestic and intellectual life of the Darwin family through a collection of private correspondence spanning the nineteenth century. By presenting these letters, Litchfield aimed to offer a humanizing portrait of her parents, balancing the heavy scientific legacy of her father with the warmth and stability provided by her mother.

The current edition is part of the Cambridge Library Collection, an initiative dedicated to reissuing out-of-print, historically significant works. By selecting Litchfield’s volumes for the Life Sciences series, Cambridge University Press preserves the primary source material that scholars rely on to understand the socio-cultural context of Victorian science. The design and presentation maintain the academic standard expected of the series, ensuring that these personal documents remain accessible to contemporary historians and researchers.