Emma Nora Barlow (née Darwin) (22 December 1885 – December 1989) was the granddaughter of the British naturalist Charles Darwin, who edited and published previously unseen examples of her grandfather’s work.
Nora, as she was known, was the daughter of the civil engineer Horace Darwin and his wife Emma Farrer, daughter of Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer. She married Alan Barlow, son of the Royal Physician Sir Thomas Barlow. She published an unexpurgated version of The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, which had previously had personal and religious material removed by his son, Francis. She also edited several collections of letters and notes, including correspondence between Darwin and John Stevens Henslow, his mentor.
The Columbine flower cultivar Aquilegia “Nora Barlow” is named after Barlow.
Bibliography
1933. Charles Darwin’s Diary of the Voyage of HMS Beagle, editor.
1946. Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle, editor. (A collection of letters and notebooks from the voyage.)
1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1809–1882, editor.
1963. Darwin’s Ornithological Notes, editor. (Barlow also wrote the Introduction, Notes, and Appendix.)
1967. Darwin and Henslow: The Growth of an Idea. Letters, 1831–1860, editor.
