On the day that Charles Darwin married his first cousin and sweetheart Emma Wedgwood, she recorded the event in diary with customary common sense, writing simply: "Came to town." The day after, on Jan 30, 1839, the new Mrs Darwin records only that she bought an armchair.

But within the prosaic details of Emma Darwin's 60 pocket books lie the hidden secrets of six decades of family life.

They shed new light on the man who convinced scientists to believe in evolution and have now been published online for the first time...[at] www.darwin-online.org.uk