Darwin's first book on evolution, "Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" was a big success in general, and well received by many. He didn't just pull this theory out of a blue sky, philosophers and scientists had been seeing some type of descent at work for decades but were unable to define that mechanism, and Darwin presented a convincing argument ("one long argument"). So he had solved a puzzle that was close to being revealed anyway. It came as a relief and exciting revelation to many people of the scientific community and of the general public.

In the newspapers at the time, you find the common people either excitedly referring to his theory with praise and wonderment, or condemning it as blasphemy. This division still continues to this day in the USA. In the late 19th century there are pundits doing lecture circuits both pro and con for Darwin's theory, and the general public are very interested in the topic, pro or con. Darwin retreats to his private life and writes more books on evolution, and the famous orator and writer Thomas Huxley becomes the primary public defender of Darwin's theory, earning him the name "Darwin's Bulldog".

So Darwin did have some support from the non-scientific general public, right off the bat. It wasn't total rejection by the common people.