The box was Annie's treasured writing case. Annie was Charles and Emma Darwin's first daughter, and her death at the age of ten broke their hearts.
When Annie was a baby, Darwin doted on her, but he also watched her with his researches in mind, and thought about man's animal origins. As Annie grew into a lively child, Darwin worked secretly on his theory of evolution, but his ideas were just one part of the family's life amid the wealth and poverty of Victorian England. When Annie fell ill, Darwin was at her bedside every day and night but could not save her. The acute pain of her loss cast deep shadows over his thinking about the natural world and the struggle for life.
Randal Keynes, a great-great-grandson of Darwin, takes us into the family's private world and draws on a wealth of previously unseen material to tell Annie's story with rich and poignant detail. As Darwin's theories continue to shape so much of our thinking about the roots of human nature, 'Annie's Box' reveals the personal experience from which he drew his most deeply held ideas.
Science and humanity come together in this vivid portrait. Opening 'Annie's Box', Randal Keynes gives us a fresh appreciation of Darwin's key insights about mankind.
