The dramatic story of the discovery that forever changed man?s perception of his place in the universe.

In 1812, the skeleton of a monster was discovered beneath the cliffs of Dorset, setting in motion a collision between science and religion and among scientists eager to claim supremacy in a brand-new field. For Reverend William Buckland, an eccentric naturalist at Oxford University, the fossil remains of a creature that existed before Noah?s flood inspired an attempt to prove the accuracy of the biblical record. Gideon Mantell, a naturalist who uncovered giant bones in a Sussex quarry, also became obsessed with the ancient past, risking everything to promote his vision of the lost world of reptiles. Soon the eminent anatomist Richard Owen entered the fray, claiming the credit for the discovery of the dinosaurs.

In a fast-paced narrative, Terrible Lizard reveals a strange, awesome prehistoric era and the struggle that set the stage for Darwin?s shattering theories — and for controversies that still rage today.

Cadbury (a science producer for BBC television) recounts this story of scientific discovery, religious controversy, and bitter feuding. Beginning in 1812 with the discovery of a seventeen-foot tall reptile skeleton, unearthed by a twelve-year-old girl, she describes the competing theories presented to explain its existence, and the three men who advanced them: the naturalist who presented Biblical arguments, the poor country doctor who uncovered bones in Sussex and became obsessed with the ancient reptiles, and the eminent anatomist who took credit for the discovery and offered the name dinosaurs.
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"This is a wonderful book, evoking a time when science required remarkable people to conduct it." The Observer

"Deborah Cadbury tells the extraordinary story of the dinosaur hunters extraordinarily well. No other narrative I know illustrates the human element in scientific discovery quite so dramatically." Evening Standard

A book about the blossoming of paleontology in the early 19th century might not strike you as light summer reading, but this wonderfully written account filled with eccentric characters, gigantic reptiles, and a war between science and religion makes Michael Crichton's dopey, dull Jurassic Park seem like cereal box copy. Better yet, the story begins at the beach.

It's 1812 in Dorset, England, and Mary Anning, "scarcely more than twelve or thirteen," is wandering along the seashore at the town of Lyme Regis. Anning, who often helped her recently deceased father collect giant bones of "Crocodiles, Angels Wings, Cupid's Wings, Verteberries and Cornemonius" from the beach cliffs to sell to tourists, discovers several large fossilized vertebrae — retrieved after "around the clock" work with her little hammer and some help from the locals — which turns out to be a "fantastic creature ... seventeen feet long."

Anning had just found the first entire connected skeleton of what would later be named "Ichthyosaurus," a prehistoric, seagoing fish-lizard — sort of a google-eyed crocodile with flippers. In so doing she launched the science of modern paleontology (she continued to find fossils for decades) and a battle royal between those committed to a literal interpretation of the Bible's creation story and those who saw the chain of life — from primordial ooze to primate — as one unbroken progression.

Cadbury has crafted a spirited, compelling story, and the cast of strange and exotic creatures matched by strange and exotic people makes this the kind of book that keeps Coppertone in business. There's Reverend William Buckland, the "undergroundology" enthusiast whose fossil-crammed quarters are also home to five free-roaming guinea pigs and a jackal — until one evening when Buckland is entertaining friends and the jackal is heard "munching up something under the sofa," reducing the guinea pig population to one. Buckland also keeps a "tame and caressing" bear named Tiglath Pileser who enjoys wine parties. There's the brilliant, devious anatomist Richard Owen, who dissects a rhinoceros in his living room, brings a stinky elephant brain into the house, and coins the word "dinosaur." There's the great and hapless Gideon Mantell, an overworked village doctor who, in his nearly nonexistent spare time, creates an extraordinary fossil museum and makes breakthrough discoveries against all odds. And those are just three of the players — in addition to the monumental stars of the Age of Reptiles — who make this true tale of fascination fascinating and entertaining. Douglas Cruickshank, Salon.com

"In this comprehensive narrative, Cadbury tells the story of the first fossilists, whose discoveries challenged the religious convictions of their day as they struggled with the implications of new science....This is a must-read book for dinosaur enthusiasts, and for anyone who has ever wondered about the source of our present-day assumptions and unanswered questions about human origins." Publishers Weekly

"An absorbing account of the pioneer 19th-century British geologists and fossil collectors....A scholarly account infused with a rare drama and suspense: read it not only for the science, but to learn what happened to all these wonderful characters." Kirkus Reviews

In 1812, the skeleton of a monster was discovered in Dorset, setting in motion a collision between science and religion. "Terrible Lizard" reveals a strange prehistoric era and the struggle that set the stage for Darwin's shattering theories--and for controversies that still rage today. 39 illustrations.

DEBORAH CADBURY is an award-winning TV science producer for the BBC. She is also the author of The Feminization of Nature. She lives in London.