When Charles Darwin announced his theory of evolution by natural selection, he did more than transform biology. Before his great work, humans were comfortably different from other life: a special creation. By showing how life on Earth evolved, Darwin told us that humans too are part of nature.

His decisive experience – a five-year round-the-world voyage on the Beagle – set him thinking about the diversity of life: ideas that would challenge the scientific establishment and Victorian society. Darwin for years built his evidence for evolution, even as he realised that such ideas were leading him straight into controversy and dispute.

This updated, concise yet informative account of Darwin’s life and work makes vividly clear the personal influences of the man and his work – and why his discoveries continue to influence us all.

STEPHEN WEBSTER is Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at Imperial College London, where he leads the Good Science Project. From 2008 to 2013 he was director of the Science Communication Unit, where he taught philosophy of science and ethics on the masters’ programme. His first degree was in zoology, followed by postgraduate work in the philosophy of evolutionary theory. His PhD thesis was an investigation of art-science collaborations, especially in relation to research practice. In his career as a science writer he wrote several radio plays for BBC Radio, scripted an opera about Darwin, and was a Guardian newspaper weather columnist. Stephen is the author of Thinking About Biology (Cambridge University Press 2003) and co-editor of Silences of Science (Routledge 2017). At Imperial College London, as leader of the Good Science Project, he co-ordinates work designed to explore and enhance contemporary research culture.