The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Robert Grant's Lamarckist philosophy) ridiculed Bell's theological explanations, pointing instead to the striking similarities of human and animal biology. The meeting then ended in uproar. Forty-five years later, Darwin revisits these arguments and recruits Duchenne's (1862) unmasking of the facial mechanisms, shifting the argument from philosophical speculation to scientific discourse. Darwin's response to Bell's natural theology is discussed by Lucy Hartley (2001). In the composition of the book, Darwin drew on worldwide responses to his questionnaire (circulated in the early months of 1867) concerning emotional expression in different ethnic groups; on anthropological memories from his time on ; on conversations
The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms went the less controversial direction of the lowly worm. His network of correspondents and fans responded to his interest and "earthworm anecdotes began surfacing in his mountain of mail". He had been interested in earthworms "since his first fishing days at The Mount and flirting days at Maer". Still, other work constrained him. Broken off from "Descent", he had to finish his next work "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals". By 1876, with his first grandson on the way, he felt his writing life was nearly over, with so much unfinished. He wanted to write on earthworms