On the Origin of Species the manuscript for his "big book" on Species, "Natural Selection". By mid March 1859 Darwin's abstract had reached the stage where he was thinking of early publication; Lyell suggested the publisher John Murray, and met with him to find if he would be willing to publish. On 28 March Darwin wrote to Lyell asking about progress, and offering to give Murray assurances "that my Book is not more "un"-orthodox, than the subject makes inevitable." He enclosed a draft title sheet proposing "An abstract of an Essay on the Origin of Species and Varieties Through natural selection", with the year shown
On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection of science on which they bear". Years later, Darwin could only recall one review; Professor Haughton of Dublin claimed that "all that was new in them was false, and what was true was old." Despite illness, Darwin pressed on with writing the "abstract" of his "big book" on "Natural Selection"; this condensed version was published in November 1859 as "On the Origin of Species". In a largely overlooked passage from Wallace's essay, he says of the evolutionary principle: The action of this principle is exactly like that of the centrifugal governor of the steam engine, which checks and corrects any