In October 1844 Transmutation became a middle class talking point with the anonymous publication of "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation" by Robert Chambers presenting Lamarckian views. It brought the notion of transmutation out into the public arena and was a sensation, quickly becoming a best-seller in fashionable society circles and going into new editions. Darwin read it in November, and when questioned by Hooker in January he admired its prose, but wrote that the "geology strikes me as bad, & his zoology far worse". The book was liked by many Quakers and Unitarians. Darwin's friend the Unitarian physiologist William Carpenter called it "a very beautiful and a very interesting book", and helped Chambers with correcting later editions. Critics thanked God that the author began "in ignorance and presumption", for the revised versions "would have been much more dangerous". "Vestiges" paved the way for discussion, but emphasised the need for secure mastery of awkward facts.