Did Charles Darwin directly make a request to Alfred Russel Wallace to relinquish their partnership in proposing evolution by natural selection? In this historical fiction, Darwin says to Wallace, “[W]e remain two parents of a precocious and beautiful child. We each clasp her by the hand and wish to lead her safely into adulthood. Instead, I fear she will be torn asunder.” Wallace gently asks, “You wish for me to let go?” and Darwin replies, “We speak of my life's work. You have many fields of study, many causes, many prescriptions.” This conversation takes place following the trial of medium and spiritualist Henry Slade for fraudulent activity; Wallace had testified in Slade's favor. Spiritualism was one of Wallace's many fields of study, causes and directions that put him at odds with the scientific community and threatened the nascent proposal of evolution by natural selection.

Sirlin's story captures the events, between 1852 and 1876, that set the stage for this imagined exchange which encapsulates Wallace's place in scientific history. The tale opens with …