A new portrait of the two time Nobel winner—drawing on family letters newly released by Marie Curie’s granddaughter
Marie Curie discovered the mysterious element radium, became the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize, and remains the only person to have won two Nobel Prizes in different science fields. Born in Poland, she prevailed despite scandals and a xenophobic establishment that looked down on immigrants and women. But she was also a mother, widowed young, who raised two extraordinary daughters alone: Irene, a Nobel Prize winning chemist whose discoveries helped pave the way for the atom bomb, and Eve, a highly regarded humanitarian and foreign correspondent. What was life like in this family of extraordinary women? Highly acclaimed science writer Shelley Emling draws on personal interviews with Curie's granddaughter and personal family correspondence to bring the three women to life. Among the revelations contained in this book is the little known fundraising trip to the United States, organized by Missy Meloney, an American journalist, that changed Marie’s science and the story of the atomic age.
