List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Note on manuscript citations; Introduction: Darwin and his fellow naturalists; 1. Darwin and the biology of the 1830s: some parallels; 2. Darwin before Malthus; 3. Natural selection and perfect adaptation, 1838–1844; 4. Part II of Darwin's work on species; 5. Natural history after Cuvier: the branching conception of nature; 6. Darwin and the branching conception; 7. Classification and the 'principle of divergence'; 8. The principle of divergence and the transformation of Darwin's theory; 9. Natural selection and 'natural improvement'; Conclusion: the development of Darwin's theory as a social progress; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
In this highly acclaimed book, Ospovat shows that Darwin's views changed radically from his first formulation of evolution to the publication of the full theory in 1859.
'a brilliant, groundbreaking book, the first full-blooded attempt to relate Darwin's science to the biology of his day.' Adrian Desmond 'It continues to be the best general treatment of the history of British biology of the decades immediately preceding the Origin of Species.' Nicolaas A. Rupke 'a landmark in Darwinian studies.' Stephen Jay Gould 'an impressive, erudite and provocative book.' Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 'The style is clear, the narrative fascinating. It is an original and important contribution to the Darwin literature.' New Scientist ' ... remains an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the formation of Darwin's theory in his 20 years of work after returning from the Beagle.' C. U. M. Smith, Annals of Human Biology
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