It is easy to believe that self-absorbed Albert, trying to change the world’s understanding of scientific law and gain fame, might seek other women, as Mileva grew bitter and angry with frustration. 10, writes a fast-paced novel with believable characters while claiming to stay as close to history as possible.Ĭertainly Mileva - hungry for love, flattered by brilliant young Albert’s attention, devastated by the loss of their daughter and reflective of the times - is presented as a woman of such unfulfilled promise and potential. Sourcebooks Landmark, 304 pages, $25.99 ($16.99 paperback)Īuthor Benedict, who will be at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Nov. “I have no idea how the division of labor works between you and Albert,” Marie says, “but my husband fostered my career.”Īfter that meeting, Mileva is forced to face the fact that she will always be in her husband’s shadow, whether he is romancing other attentive women or doing the scientific research she dreamed of doing herself. Marie questions why Mileva has not pursued her scientific passions. Mileva meets young Marie Curie, a woman she admires who is able to pursue both her scientific dreams and her family. This failure to acknowledge her contributions and brilliance is typical of the couple’s life together.

Mileva works alongside Albert to develop the mathematical formulas to support the theory, but, to her amazement and disappointment, her name is left off the published papers. Distraught when the little girl dies from scarlet fever, Mileva, not Albert, develops the original theory of relativity in response to her grief, according to Benedict’s novel. Later, when he is more secure in his career, he proposes marriage.Įntering into a marriage based on love with the promise of scientific collaboration and research, Mileva leaves their young daughter with her parents. Albert initially turns his back on Mileva and their young daughter because he believes them to be a liability toward obtaining a job. They have an affair, and a young girl is born from this union. Get The AJT Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Albert is amazed and awed by her mathematical abilities and passion for science. She meets young Albert Einstein at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, a male-dominated, prestigious university in Zurich, and is pursued endlessly by him.

The other einstein by marie benedict