Trials of the Monkey. An Accidental Memoir.

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Matthew Chapman, Darwin's great-great-grandson, leaves his Hollywood screenwriting career to explore the evolution debate in Dayton, Tennessee, site of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. He aims to assess whether views on evolution have shifted over the past seventy-five years. As a defiant atheist, Chapman grapples with enduring fundamentalist beliefs that reject evolution, while also confronting his own spiritual struggles. This journey evolves into an inward quest, transforming into a tragicomic "accidental memoir." He reflects on his lineage, starting with Charles Darwin and tracing through his great-grandfather Sir Francis Darwin, a botanist, and his grandmother Frances, a poet who battled depression. His mother, Clare, faced her own challenges, including alcoholism. Chapman’s narrative blends travel writing and reportage, capturing his experiences in the South alongside a history of his family and his mid-life doubts. The result is a genre-defying work that is darkly humorous, provocative, and poignant, offering insight into both the evolution debate and personal introspection.