The Evolution of Inanimate Objects: The Life and Collected Works of Thomas Darwin

LONGLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME TRUST BOOK PRIZE 2012While carrying out historical research at an Ontario asylum, psychiatrist Harry Karlinsky comes across a familiar surname in the register. Could the “Thomas Darwin of Down, England” be a relative of the famous Charles Darwin?In a narrative woven from letters, photographs, historical documents and illustrations, what emerges is a sketch of Thomas’s life – the last of eleven children born to Charles Darwin. It tells of his obsession with extending his father’s studies into the realm of inanimate objects – kitchen utensils, to be precise. Can the theory of evolution be aplied to knives, forks and spoons?In this stunning factit…