Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury (1809-86), the distinguished botanist and geologist, corresponded regularly with Lyell, Horner, Darwin and Hooker among others, and helped them in identifying botanical fossils. He was active in the scientific societies of his time, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851. This nine-volume edition of his letters and diaries was published privately by his wife Frances Horner and her sister Katherine Lyell between 1890 and 1893. His copious journal and letters give an unparalleled view of the scientific and cultural society of Victorian England, and of the impact of Darwin's theories on his contemporaries. Volume 4 covers the years 1857-64. Bunbury correctly foresaw in October 1859 that 'Darwin's forthcoming book on Species ... is likely to cause no little combustion in the scientific world'. He provides a valuable commentary on its reception over the following months.
