THE NATURALIST Maria Sibylla Merian




What'sHerName show

Summary: Germany was still burning witches when Maria Sibylla Merian daringly filled her 17th-century home with spiders, moths, and all kinds of toxic plants. Bold choices saved her from accusations of witchcraft–and from a mundane life. Merian’s fascination with metamorphosis led her all the way to the rainforests of South America, where she recorded countless new species, 130 years before Darwin! Our guest is Kim Todd, author of _Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis._