Bristol Humanists

You are in the company of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma. The day is 18th June 1858. Charles has just received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace telling him about his ‘new’ theory of evolution by natural selection. This is a theory Charles developed more than 20 years earlier.
Should Charles agree to publish this theory, jointly with Alfred Russel Wallace, or should he remain silent?
Charles is forced into making a decision and asks Emma to accompany him on his daily afternoon walk to talk it over with her.
Emma is a devout Unitarian Christian and is concerned about how the publication will affect both their standing in society and in the eyes of God. Charles is an eminent Victorian ‘natural philosopher’, anxious that he will be cast out of his intellectual circles and fearing for the safety of both himself and his family.

‘On the Origin of Species’ was eventually published in 1859.
The performance explores the dilemma that Charles & Emma faced by witnessing their imagined conversations. Conceived in collaboration with Bristol Humanists and scripted by Jane Westhead, this theatrical walk takes place in Bristol Botanical Gardens.

The show will take place twice, with audience numbers limited to 30 per performance. Between the two performances, there will be a 30 minute question and answer session for both groups, with a panel of speakers including the director and senior horticulturist of the Botanical Gardens.

The cafe will be open for drinks, snacks and cakes.

Performance 1
17.30 - 18.15 - walking theatre
18.15 - 18.45 - Q&A, plus cafe open, provided by Chandos Deli

Performance 2
18.15 - 18.45 - Q&A plus cafe open (as above)
18.45 - 19.30 - walking theatre

Jane Westhead’s walking theatre shows, produced in collaboration with geologist, Angus Miller, are ‘Darwin in Edinburgh’ and ‘Hutton in Edinburgh’. These shows are now an annual feature of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her previous Edinburgh Fringe show 'Who Cares' was listed as one of the top 10 most unusual shows. Her Darwin and Hutton shows have been well received by audience and critics and regularly sell out.

The Emma Martin Lecture - Impossible Monsters with Dr Michael Taylor

PLEASE NOTE - this is a ticketed event - see below

In 1811, a twelve-year-old girl uncovered some strange-looking bones in Britain’s southern shoreline - and so sparked a crisis that would engulf science and religion for the next six decades. That little girl, Mary Anning, an amateur geologist, shook the establishment. By the end of the C19th, the literal reading of the bible had been overturned, science had been liberated from religion and the secular age had begun. Impossible Monsters takes us into the lives and minds of the extraordinary men and women whose discovery of the dinosaurs revolutionised our understanding of the world, as well as those who resisted them, and those like Charles Darwin, who took great risks to construct a new account of the earth’s and mankind’s origins. It is the riveting story of a group of people who dared to think impossible things and then showed them to be true.

Dr Michael Taylor is the author of Impossible Monsters, as well as The Interest: How the British Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery, which was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2021, chosen as a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year and described as 'riveting' (The Times) and 'compulsively readable' (Guardian). He was born in 1988 and graduated with a double first in history from the University of Cambridge, where he earned his PhD. He has since been Lecturer in Modern British History at Balliol College, Oxford, and a Visiting Fellow at the British Library's Eccles Centre for American Studies. He is now a Senior Manager with PwC.

Of Impossible Monsters reviewers said:
'Marvellous . . . Impossible Monsters is a work of remarkable range. Taylor . . . belongs to that rare class of writers who can effortlessly encompass both scientific arcana and intellectual currents. It is also to his credit that he every so often takes us away from the high tables to show us what ordinary people made of these huge strides in thinking' (Guardian).
'Skilfully blends an impressive array of sources into a highly readable, almost novelistic narrative. In particular, it features many women who played crucial roles but are too often invisible . . . Including gripping tales as well as serious commentary, Impossible Monsters chips out a fascinating slice through the strata of Victorian society' (History Today)

'This book confirms what I've suspected for a while, that Michael Taylor is the most talented young historian around. This book dazzles in its originality and there is something you want to commit to memory on every page. A triumph' - Sathnam Sangera

'Impossible Monsters captivatingly outlines how the unearthing of strange bones toppled traditional understanding of the origins of the world . . . rather miraculous' - Roger Lewis, Daily Telegraph

Emma Martin
Emma Martin was Bristol's most important freethinker, humanist, feminist and human rights campaigner. In her short life (1812-1851), she went from committed Christian to outspoken atheist/freethinker, working for the Owenites, speaking to thousands and publishing pamphlets on the role of the church and on women's rights. Later on she trained as a midwife and campaigned on reproductive rights. She has a blue plaque dedicated to her in Bridewell Street, and annually we celebrate her life with this special talk.

The event will have a bookstall provided by Heron Books, with Michael Taylor's books available for sale and for signing.