Conventional explanations of the causes of the Industrial Revolution look at such issues as population and the availability of natural resources at the crucial time of change in Britain. This series takes a more ambitious, global view, bringing together a small group of international academics in an attempt to solve the puzzle of why the Machine Age took place where and when it did. Meeting among the polished wood furniture and heavy oil paintings of King’s College, Cambridge, they look for clues to this historical mystery with the meticulous attention to detail of Sherlock Holmes.