William Henry Fox Talbot(1800 -1870) was the English inventor of "photography", using a negative to produce an unlimited number of (positive) photographs. Talbot a member of the Royal Society began his research in 1834 but he was a secretive and cautious man and did not publish any of his research; a fact he would come to regret.
During 1835-36 Talbot had succeeded in making photographs, but nobody knew of his work except his wife and his mother. In 1839 the French painter and entrepreneur Louis Daguerre revealed the "Daguerrotype”; a photograph made on a metal plate, and with the support of the French government Daguerre immediately achieved world acclaim and financial reward. This revelation was devastating to Talbot who was then forced to set about establishing that he was in fact the true inventor of photography.
The 45 minute radio play dramatises Talbot the cautious man forced to recognise science and business as twin elements in public recognition. Prominent in the drama are Talbot's wife Constance and his mother Lady Elizabeth, both of whom are instrumental in forcing Talbot to confront his situation. Constance by her practising of photography, and his mother in forcing Talbot to act in his best interest. The drama is contextualised in the nineteenth century world of the Royal Society, including Talbot's friends the astronomer John Herschel, the research scientist Michael Faraday and Dr P.M. Roget secretary of the Royal Society.