The recent film Joy (see BioNews 1266) takes as its basis 'A Matter of Life', the joint autobiography of IVF pioneers Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, published in 1980.
However, historian Professor Nick Hopwood reveals in a recent article that a third, uncredited author – the doctor and poet Dannie Abse – may have been behind the book's success. Read more in the journal Medical History.
Professor Hopwood will be one of the speakers discussing the life and legacy of Robert Edwards at this week's free-to-attend PET event Robert Edwards at 100: Remembering an IVF Visionary, taking place online this coming Wednesday (24 September 2025). Find out more and register here.
Related Articles
Film Review: Joy – the birth of IVF
The story of IVF, from its early years in the 1960s to the birth in 1978 of Louise Brown, is depicted in this biographical drama, reviewed by former IVF patient Susan Tranfield-Thomas...
Remembering Robert Edwards, 1925-2013
Robert Geoffrey Edwards, or 'Bob' as his colleagues and friends knew him, is one of the true giants of the 20th century...
Obituary: Professor Sir Robert Edwards
Professor Sir Robert Edwards (27 September 1925-10 April 2013) has died after a long illness....
Professor Robert Edwards awarded Nobel Prize for pioneering work in IVF
British scientist Professor Robert Edwards, 85, has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine for his ground-breaking IVF work...