Mrs Darwin's diaries join Charles' collected works online

The tiny pocket diaries, which occupy over 3,200 online images, were written by the great scientist's wife, Emma, and document events as diverse as shopping trips and family tragedies.

They have just been added to the web-based collection of Charles Darwin's complete works, which can be seen at http://darwin-online.org.uk. The University of Cambridge-based project is the largest collection of Darwin's writings ever published.

The originals of Emma's diaries were found in a cardboard box in the 1980s, but because of their poor condition had to be stored in Cambridge University Library, where they were available only to visitors and users.

Now for the first time the day-to-day life of the Darwins, from their marriage in 1839 up until Emma's own death in 1896, can be examined by anyone at the click of a mouse.

Emma was born into the Wedgwood pottery dynasty and was Charles Darwin's first cousin as well as his wife. Her diaries begin when she was just 16 years old and living on her family estate; Maer Hall in Staffordshire.

Most of what she chronicled took the form of short, one-liners. Emma recorded events such as visits and visitors, shopping notes, dinners and the health of her family, including Charles. Some of the notes were so brief that key events are barely mentioned – on January 29th 1839, for instance, all Emma wrote was “came to town”. While she was certainly in London that day, she chooses not to mention that she also got married. A shopping trip for an armchair the following day is actually recorded in more detail!

There are also plenty of moving entries. The tragic death of her daughter, Annie, on April 23rd 1851, is simply listed as the time of her death, “12 o'clock”. Charles' death on April 19th 1882 is recorded in a similar manner – “Fatal attack at 12”.

Some pages of the diaries feature drawings. Most of these are thought to be by her children, but one is a presumed self-portrait.

Dr John van Wyhe, director of the Complete Work Of Charles Darwin Online, said: “These are a wonderful historical resource, not only for Darwin scholars, but also as a social document of prosperous middle-class life in the Victorian era. They can be used to look up the whereabouts and activities of the Darwin family over the course of many years.”

The collection has been reproduced with the permission of its owner, Richard Darwin Keynes, Darwin's great-grandson. The resource also includes an introduction to the diaries by Darwin biographer Janet Browne.