Editing On the Origin of Species (section)

===Time taken to publish===
In his autobiography, Darwin said he had "gained much by my delay in publishing from about 1839, when the theory was clearly conceived, to 1859; and I lost nothing by it".<ref>{{Harvnb|Darwin|1958|p=[http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=128&itemID=F1497&viewtype=text 124]}}</ref> On the first page of his 1859 book he noted that, having begun work on the topic in 1837, he had drawn up "some short notes" after five years, had enlarged these into a sketch in 1844, and "from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the same object."<ref name="vW time to publish" />{{sfn|Darwin|1859|p=[http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=16&itemID=F373&viewtype=text 1]}}

Various biographers have proposed that Darwin avoided or delayed making his ideas public for personal reasons. Reasons suggested have included fear of religious persecution or social disgrace if his views were revealed, and concern about upsetting his clergymen naturalist friends or his pious wife Emma. [[Charles Darwin's illness]] caused repeated delays. His paper on [[Glen Roy]] had proved embarrassingly wrong, and he may have wanted to be sure he was correct. [[David Quammen]] has suggested all these factors may have contributed, and notes Darwin's large output of books and busy family life during that time.<ref>{{harvnb|Quammen|2006|pp=84–92}}</ref>

A more recent study by science historian [[John van Wyhe]] has determined that the idea that Darwin delayed publication only dates back to the 1940s, and Darwin's contemporaries thought the time he took was reasonable. Darwin always finished one book before starting another. While he was researching, he told many people about his interest in transmutation without causing outrage. He firmly intended to publish, but it was not until September 1854 that he could work on it full-time. His 1846 estimate that writing his "big book" would take five years proved optimistic.<ref name="vW time to publish">{{harvnb|van Wyhe|2007}}</ref>