At the British Society for the History of Science meeting in Belfast, in July 2022, I led a walking tour around the city which included the Ulster Hall, where John Tyndall gave his controversial presidential address to the British Association in 1874. Seeing the 1874 volume of the Darwin correspondence among the books available for review at the BSHS display I volunteered to do the job in the hope of learning more about Tyndall's references to Darwinism in the address. It turned out that his interaction with Darwin was rather limited. On 5 August 1874 Tyndall forwarded a copy of the proof of the printed version of the address to Darwin, asking him to check that his account of his theory was accurate. Darwin replied on 12 August saying he was deeply gratified by what Tyndall had to say. The only other reference to the address is in a letter from Charles Lyell to Darwin on 1 September noting the many attacks on Tyndall by religious leaders in Belfast and elsewhere.

Darwin would have been anxious to avoid direct involvement in the controversies generated by Tyndall's views, but he could not escape the growing confrontation between his supporters and their most active opponent, St George Jackson Mivart. Darwin had already broken off regular correspondence with Mivart as the latter's repudiation of the theory of natural selection became more intemperate, but he was now forced to re-enter the fray. Mivart published a review of books on the origin of human cultures in which he accused Darwin's son, George, of advocating ‘vice’ as a means of improving the human race (in fact he had suggested that careful choice of partners would have a eugenic effect). Darwin's friends rallied round to support his demand for a retraction and apology. The publisher of the journal, John Murray (who also published Darwin's own books) agreed to include a response to the accusation in the next issue. This volume of the correspondence includes all the relevant letters in late 1874 along with an appendix summarizing the events through to its conclusion on 12 January of the following year when Darwin wrote to Mivart refusing to engage in any further communication.

More positively, Darwin was engaged in publishing new editions of his early book on coral reefs and the Descent of Man. As in previous volumes, the Correspondence reveals the extent to which he was helped by members of his family and a range of people from every walk of life who communicated their observations and suggestions. The book on coral reefs had gone out of print and become scarce, and the preparation of a new edition allowed Darwin to respond to criticisms by James Dwight Dana. The new edition of the Descent of Man was to be in one volume rather than two and would have a considerably reduced price. It contained a new essay by Thomas Henry Huxley outlining the evidence for the close similarity between the brain structures of humans and apes.

Darwin was also continuing to work on his botanical projects which now extended to include the insectivorous plants, which led him to make observations on the ways in which they digest their prey. Botanists and chemists from around the country helped with the experiments, leading to extensive communications with Joseph Dalton Hooker and others. There was also a campaign to discover whether bullfinches were destroying primrose flowers to obtain their nectar, again eliciting responses from around the country.

On a more personal note, Darwin's health remained precarious and he continued to rely on his family for practical matters such as proofreading. There were significant changes in the circumstances of family members and acquaintances. His son Leonard went to New Zealand on an expedition to observe the transit of Venus (it was too cloudy) while Francis got married. He provided support for Anton Dohrn to help resolve financial problems threatening his zoological station at Naples. At the end of the year, we see his first contact with George John Romanes, who would go on to become one of his most devoted followers.

My decision to review this volume may have been inspired by a very specific impulse, but I can assure readers that it maintains the very high standards of scholarship that we have become accustomed to in the series. Once again we see the whole range of Darwin's activities, scientific and personal, laid out for future researchers to mine for information.