Review of On the Origin of Species, Central Presbyterian

What it is

This is a page from The Central Presbyterian, a newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia, dated 11 February 1860. The review of On the Origin of Species appears on page 24, in the left-center column. It explains Darwin's theory that species are permanent varieties of one primordial form, shaped by a struggle for life that leads to natural selection. The reviewer calls the book technical and says it needs careful study. The scan is held by the Library of Congress. The text used here is an OCR copy made by an AI model, which may contain errors, so it is a machine reading rather than the printed page itself.

Why it matters

The review shows how one newspaper first explained Darwin's ideas to its readers less than a year after the book appeared. The reviewer's cautious tone shows that natural selection was new and hard for many readers to follow. The page also reflects the wider debate that surrounded Darwin's claim that species were not independently created.

Look closer

• Which words in the review does the writer use to warn readers about the difficulty of the book?
• Why might a Richmond newspaper in 1860 have chosen to explain Darwin's theory at all?
• What does the review leave out, and how would you check the reviewer's summary against the book?