Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith is a 2009 Young Adult nonfiction book describing the marriage of Charles Darwin and Emma Wedgwood, a devout Christian. Charles was both an agnostic and working on a theory that she regarded as wrong and blasphemous...this is the story of how they made it work anyway, and how Charles's love for Emma shaped his career.
The book was published to coincide with Darwin's 200th birthday and received widespread critical praise.
Other literary couples with the same name include the telepaths in X-Men (probably intentional), Charles and Emma Bovary (probably not), and the characters in this ficlet (who knows?).
This book contains examples of:
- Cynicism Catalyst: The death of one of their daughters is described as pushing Charles toward atheism, and Emma in the other direction.
- Dating Catwoman: The premise.
- Hollywood Atheist: Part of the point of the book is to subvert this with regard to Charles.
- Kissing Cousins: They were first cousins, in a culture where that was completely normal. The author's amusement is clear.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Every word of praise Annie gets is received by the reader as another nail in her coffin.