Sleeping Beauties

We love to believe in a meritocracy of ideas - that greatness is always recognised, innovation always seized upon and rewarded. Yet so many of the people we now recognise as the world`s great creators initially got little traction for their work. It was only later, often much later, that their work came roaring back to life and made a lasting impact. Discoveries as diverse as dark matter to continental drift, technologies from solar panels to the steam engine, artists from Brueghel to Vermeer to Melville all created `sleeping beauties`. Ranging across many centuries and the full scope of human endeavour, David Byrne explores their stories and gives us a lens for identifying future breakthroughs. Humbling yet hopeful, these stories celebrate the courage to try new things and the wisdom to embrace them.