A journey into the (un)natural histories of creatures we have imagined over the past 15,000 years: from strange beasts carved in Palaeolithic caves and hybrid snake women, to deep-sea leviathans and apocalyptic dino-monsters. Discover what lies beneath the monstrous menagerie that has shaped our minds, our societies and how we see our place in nature
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Natalie Lawrence is an author and illustrator who explores our relationship with the natural world, looking through multiple lenses - from the biological to the psychoanalytic. She has a first-class MCantab in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, during which she spent most of her time in the Zoology department. She then succumbed to the dark side (Arts), receiving a MSc and Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge, working on the cultural creation of monsters and how they allow us to relate to the world.
Natalie published her first book when she was a teenager, Feathers and Eggshells, inspired by her favourite place, Hampstead Heath and the birds she had been entranced by since she was young. She has given a TedX talk, appeared on BBC Woman’s hour, and worked with installation artists. She currently lives in London, teaches biology, and writes in a room filled with plants and specimens from her natural history collection, from megalodon teeth to hornbill skulls. Occasionally she is joined by live giant silkmoths.