12 h 16 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 16 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a blush, a shrug or a snarl holds a clue to our animal past?
In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin asks why feelings take visible shape. He watches dogs, cats, horses, monkeys and apes, alongside his own children and people from many cultures. Small movements become evidence in a larger argument about where human expressions come from.
Darwin argues that many expressions begin as useful actions and settle into habit. He builds his case around three principles, then explores grief, joy, anger, fear and surprise. At stake is a question close to every face we meet: how much of our language of feeling do humans share with one another and with animals?
What you’ll discover
- Habits with a history Follow Darwin’s argument that repeated actions outlast the needs they once serve.
- Opposite feelings in motion Explore his claim that opposite states of mind can produce opposite bodily movements.
- Feeling beyond the will Consider how Darwin explains movements that arise from an excited nervous system.
- Faces under strong emotion Look closely at bared teeth, flared nostrils and wide eyes in anger and terror.
- A shared human language Examine Darwin’s case that people across cultures share the same basic expressions.
Who will love it
Readers drawn to psychology, evolution, and the origins of feelings will love this book, as will those fascinated by animals and babies. It suits admirers of close observation and Darwin's curious approach.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Expressions have a natural history
- Faces need more than one witness
- Useful actions leave lasting habits
- Opposite feelings reverse the body
- Strong feeling spills into movement
- Tears begin with the infant scream
- Anger retains traces of animal action
- Blushing answers to other people's opinions
- A small movement carries a history
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
by Charles Darwin · 1872
A dog's greenhouse face, a blushing girl and a headless frog help Darwin trace feelings back to our animal past.
Challenging5–10 hours to read16 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What does a dog know that its master does not? Picture a dog marching up to a stranger, stiff and bristling.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 55 min5 h 30 min fast, 8 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 99,300 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1872by Charles Darwin
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Expressions come from evolution, not special design
Before Darwin, most writers held that every species was created just as it is today. Sir Charles Bell taught that human facial muscles were a special provision for showing feeling. Darwin found this unconvincing. Apes carry the same facial muscles, and nobody would say monkeys were given them only to make grimaces.
He praises Dr Duchenne for careful photographs of faces moved by electric current. Yet even Duchenne said the Creator set each muscle moving by divine whim. Such an explanation fits every case, so it tells you nothing and stops the search.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1872
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Darwin, Charles. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals.
Darwin, C. (2026). The expression of the emotions in man and animals. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals (Original work published 1872)
Darwin, Charles. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals.
@book{darwin2026expression,
author = {Darwin, Charles},
title = {The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals},
note = {First published 1872}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals about?
It asks why feelings show in the face and body, and why they look alike across people and animals. Darwin offers three principles, habit, opposites and nervous overflow, and tests them on dogs, monkeys, infants, patients and travelers' reports.
What is the principle of antithesis in Darwin's book?
Antithesis means that a feeling opposite to one with a habitual expression calls out opposite movements, even if useless. His example is a dog that bristles and stiffens when hostile, then crouches and wags when it sees its master.
Did Darwin really use photographs and questionnaires?
Yes. He showed Duchenne's photographs of electrically moved faces to many people and noted their guesses. In 1867 he sent sixteen questions to observers worldwide and received thirty-six answers, which he used to judge which expressions are shared.
The author
Charles Darwin
1809–1882 · English naturalist and biologist
Charles Darwin (1809–1882) was an English naturalist and biologist. He was born in Shrewsbury and lived at Down House in Kent from 1842 until his death. He wrote On the Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872).
More by Charles Darwin
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
