Letters from the Malay Archipelago

The Network held a conference in 2008 to mark the 150th anniversary of the joint paper delivered to the Linnean Society by Wallace and Darwin. This fascinating book has a foreword by Sir David Attenborough, a long-time admirer of Wallace. It was during this journey that he formulated his own version of natural selection, and this volume contains some interesting letters between Darwin and Wallace. The book is divided into a number of different sections, each with its own introduction. There are also notes on the correspondents as well as many informative footnotes. Wallace writes very vividly, so one gets a good impression of his everyday life and the tribulations he experienced with his rather inefficient assistant. On a typical day, he might collect 50 or 60 beetles, which then had to be killed and pinned for subsequent sale and display.

The tone between Darwin and Wallace is extremely cordial, and Darwin is very appreciative of the support offered by Wallace, especially when he finally published The Origin of Species in 1859. He is full of admiration for Wallace's adventurous spirit. In early 1859 he regards his career as 'nearly run out', a judgement certainly overturned by history. Darwin refers to his supporters as converts and describes the ferocity of attacks on him and his theory (May 1860). He says he is now case-hardened and that these attacks will only make him fight more determinedly. He ends the letter expressing 'most deeply felt wishes for your success in science and in every way.' The letters give a unique insight into one of the great natural history journeys of the 19th century.