Episode 3

Synopsis

Writer and poet Ruth Padel investigates the qualities of her great great grandfather Charles Darwin and attempts to discover the man behind the science.

Ruth explores the losses which Darwin experienced in his life, how he coped with them and in what ways they shaped his view of the world. He saw three of his children die, one of which affected him particularly deeply and caused him to lose much of his religious belief. He also had to cope with the death of his mother when he was a boy, the loss of his own health and almost losing his research for On the Origin of Species.

Among Ruth's interviewees are Darwin biographer Janet Browne, writer and fellow Darwin descendant Randal Keynes and the former Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries.