Turi King © Carl Vivian
Doubleday has pre-empted geneticist Professor Turi King’s "myth-busting" book on the secrets of DNA. Susanna Wadeson pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights, including Canada, to The Secrets of Our DNA: How Genetics Changed the World for Doubleday from Michael Alcock at Johnson & Alcock and will publish in May 2026.
King is currently the lead scientist on Channel 4’s documentary series Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator, and is known for her work identifying the bones of Richard III after they were discovered in a Leicester car park in 2012 and as a television presenter. Her new myth-busting book reveals the extraordinary true stories and mysteries solved using the power of DNA.
The Secrets of Our DNA takes readers on a fascinating journey – from mistaken dinosaur DNA to the OJ Simpson trial, from Dolly the Sheep to Angelina Jolie’s BRCA1 gene and to what we can learn from Hitler’s DNA – to reveal the myriad ways in which DNA shaped our world today. Turi shows how we are all interconnected and, perhaps most importantly, she makes clear why we should all be a part of the discussion about how new genetic discoveries are utilised for the benefit of all life on earth.
King is the director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath and was previously professor of genetics and public engagement at the University of Leicester.
King said: "When I chose to change career from archaeologist to geneticist I faced a steep learning curve but what hooked me was the stories. DNA gives us a key to understanding why someone has a propensity for a disease and it can shed light on a historical mystery. It can exonerate one person from a crime and convict another, reveal a fraud crossing continents or help someone trace a parent and so find part of their identity. As genetic technologies develop at an astonishing pace, what we’re discovering has the ability to dramatically change the lives of so many. I hope those who read the stories in my book will be as inspired to keep learning as I am."
Wadeson said: "Turi is the expert in her field: brilliant, compassionate and a wonderful storyteller. This is an incredibly fast-moving, important and wide-ranging area of science. For all of us trying to understand ourselves, how our world works and the choices ahead of us, The Secrets of Our DNA is a must-read: challenging, enlightening and thought-provoking."