The Other Einstein: A Novel
From beloved New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Marie Benedict comes the story of a not-so-famous scientist who not only loved Albert Einstein, but also shaped the theories that brought him lasting renown.
In the tradition of Beatriz Williams and Paula McClain, Marie Benedict's The Other Einstein offers us a window into a brilliant, fascinating woman whose light was lost in Einstein's enormous shadow. This novel resurrects Einstein's wife, a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory of relativity is hotly debated. Was she simply Einstein's sounding board, an assistant performing complex mathematical equations? Or did she contribute something more?
Mitza Maric has always been a little different from other girls. Most twenty-year-olds are wives by now, not studying physics at an elite Zurich university with only male students trying to outdo her clever calculations. But Mitza is smart enough to know that, for her, math is an easier path than marriage. Then fellow student Albert Einstein takes an interest in her, and the world turns sideways. Theirs becomes a partnership of the mind and of the heart, but there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.
Marie Benedict illuminates one pioneering woman in STEM, returning her to the forefront of history's most famous scientists.
"The Other Einstein takes you into Mileva's heart, mind, and study as she tries to forge a place for herself in a scientific world dominated by men."--Bustle
Recommended by PopSugar, Bustle, Booklist, Library Journal and more!
Other Bestselling Historical Fiction from Marie Benedict:
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
The Only Woman in the Room
Lady Clementine
Carnegie's Maid
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Community Reviews
The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
284 pages
What’s it about?
This is another novel that takes the framework from history and fills in the cracks with the author's imagination. Marie Benedict explores the relationship between Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric in this novel. Mileva was a fellow physics student before becoming Einstein’s first wife.
What did it make me think about?
The role of women in society has changed so tremendously over the past hundred years. How difficult it would have been to be a woman with aspirations of your own at this time in history.
Should I read it?
This book was interesting and quick but I did feel that the author took a lot of liberties with the story. She seemed bent on portraying Mileva as the true genius. It seems much more imagined than real- and yet who really knows?
Quote-
“My experiences with other young ladies generally ended poorly. Commonalities between myself and them were few at best. At worst, I had suffered meanness and degradation at the hands of my classmates, male and female, especially when they realized the scope of my ambitions.”
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