PREFACE 
Sir Richard Owen’s careful habit of preserving 
every paper or letter that came to his hands has 
rendered the task of preparing his ‘ Life more 
difficult perhaps than it would otherwise have 
been. Of his own letters, written chiefly to his 
wife and sisters, no less than 1,200 remain; while 
of the voluminous correspondence he received 
during his long life more than 1 5,000 letters had 
been preserved. 
Besides all these, both he and his wdfe were 
in the habit of keeping diaries. His own journal 
is of a more or less disconnected character ; while 
that of his wife, which includes the years 1834 to 
1873, is a full record not only of the important 
facts but also of the trivial details of their joint 
lives. It will, therefore, be readily understood 
