Emma Darwin, wife of botanist and Origin of Species author Charles Darwin, has been the subject of of some interest in recent times. The upcoming film Creation, starring Jennifer Connelly as Emma (pictured), is based on a biography of her husband entitled Annie's Box.
More recently and locally, their marriage was dramatized in an original play by William S. Leavengood entitled Charley and Emma for The Blank Theatre Company Living Room Series, at 6500 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.
A Christian woman, Emma appeared as the emotional and spiritual centerpiece in the play, providing the needed support for her husband, in spite of her own uncertainty in troubled times. His conflicts with the scientific and religious communities, his own crisis of faith, a genetic weakness in his family which lead to several premature deaths as well as his own illness, were some of the burdens she had to bear. Even so, her faith and committment provided a bedrock for their family.