Screenwriter John Goldsmith brings to life Charles Darwin’s greatest personal crisis: the anguishing decision over whether to “go public” with his theory of evolution. Darwin spent years refining his ideas and penning his seminal book, On the Origin of Species. Daunted by looming conflict with the orthodox religious values of his day, he resisted publishing — until a letter from naturalist Alfred Wallace forced his hand.
Darwin (Henry Ian Cusick) carrying his field research equipment.
In 1858, Darwin learned that Wallace was on the brink of publishing ideas similar to his own. In a sickened panic, Darwin grasped his dilemma: To delay publishing any longer would be to condemn all of his work to obscurity — his voyage on the Beagle, his adventures in the Andes, the gauchos and bizarre fossils of Patagonia, the finches and giant tortoises of the Galapagos. But to come forward with his ideas risked the fury of the church and perhaps a rift with his own devoted wife, Emma, who clung to a devout, orthodox view of creation.
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