11/08/2021
Following The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, Benedict shines a light in this underwhelming story on Rosalind Franklin, the British chemist and X-ray crystallographer who dedicated her short life to uncovering the DNA molecule’s structure. Rosalind begins researching X-rays in 1947 at a Paris lab where men and women are treated equally. Entranced by mentor Jacques Mering, she’s about to return his romantic overtures when he mentions he’s married. His subsequent affair with a new researcher is the catalyst for Rosalind to give notice and find a position in London. There she runs into staid British attitudes about women in the workplace and contempt for her work, which is now centered on DNA. The author details Rosalind’s many run-ins with colleague Maurice Wilkins, who is in cahoots with molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick at a rival lab. In fact, the now-famed duo win the race to construct a DNA molecule model by essentially stealing years of Rosalind’s painstaking work. The author spends a lot of time hammering on the well-known misogyny Rosalind faced, and tries to explicate her subject’s discoveries; on the latter, she achieves varying degrees of success. Much has been written about the real Franklin, and unlike Benedict’s other fictional chronicles of historical women, this doesn’t add a whole lot to the story. (Jan.)
"Benedict brings to life Franklin’s grit and spirit...an important contribution to the historical record." — The Washington Post
"A compelling look at the scientist’s impressive and all-too-short life…there are no easy answers in Her Hidden Genius, but there is much food for thought." — Science magazine
"Marie Benedict brings human warmth and in-depth science to a novel on the life of Rosalind Franklin…Benedict is terrific at showing how male exclusivity operates and has researched the science in magnificent depth…A humanly as well as scientifically engaging read." — Financial Times
"Benedict again illuminates an overlooked female historical figure, accessibly highlighting Franklin’s scientific achievements and also depicting some of her personal life." — Library Journal
"You’ve read about the men who lied and took credit for her experiments and discovery in your science books. But this is not their story; it’s hers." — BookRiot
"Benedict adeptly brings forward another accomplished, intriguing, and unjustly overlooked or oversimplified real-life woman in a welcoming and involving historical novel." — Booklist
"Benedict breaks down the science for the reader while bringing to life a woman whose incredible discoveries were hidden by the men around her." — SheReads
"Marie Benedict has a remarkable talent for forcing open the cracks of history to draw extraordinary women into the sunlight. In Her Hidden Genius, Benedict weaves together molecular biology and human psychology to bring vivid life to Rosalind Franklin, whose discovery of DNA’s exquisite double-helix structure takes on the narrative intensity of a thriller. Fans of historical fiction will devour this complex portrait of a brilliant and trailblazing genius and the price she paid to advance the frontiers of science.” — Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of Our Woman in Moscow
"Marie Benedict does it again, pulling another brilliant woman out of the shadows of history into an illuminating portrait for posterity. This eye-opening novel deftly explores the life of Rosalind Franklin—the wronged heroine of world-changing discoveries—and her singular pursuit of science. Educational and astounding. Brava!" — Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author of America’s First Daughter
"What an important book this is. Through Marie Benedict's trademark insight and immersive historical research, Rosalind Franklin and her extraordinary legacy are beautifully restored to public recognition. So brilliantly sketched is this brilliant woman that you will find yourself both infuriated by the misogynistic battles she faces and inspired by the intellectual achievements she manages to secure regardless. A must-read for anyone interested in science or forgotten heroines." — Kate Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Radium Girls and The Woman They Could Not Silence
"Impeccably researched and beautifully written, Her Hidden Genius is a remarkable story of strength, perseverance, and achievement. Marie Benedict once again shines a light on women in science, vibrantly bringing Rosalind Franklin’s genius to life in the pages of her novel." — Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Half Life
"Marie Benedict has given us an immense gift: a peek into the inner world of Rosalind Franklin, one of the most brilliant—and overlooked—scientists of her time. Her Hidden Genius describes the discovery of DNA in exquisite beauty, weaving the structure of the double helix effortlessly into a poignant and compelling narrative. This is Benedict’s best work yet, a book that will break your heart, rattle your expectations, and ultimately leave you stunned by the sacrifices one woman made for science." — Nathalia Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls
12/10/2021
In early 1947, Dr. Rosalind Franklin leaves London for a job as a researcher in Paris, where she'll be using X-ray crystallography to study carbons. Having regularly endured sexism in England, Rosalind is delighted to find her French colleagues welcoming and appreciative of her intelligence. After she develops feelings for the head of the lab, though, and then learns that he has a wife and is also dating another researcher at the lab, Rosalind feels it's time to leave. She returns to England, where she studies DNA at King's College. This is groundbreaking work, and they are in a race to be the first to determine the structure of DNA. However, Rosalind again encounters prejudice and also disregard for her rigorous methods. When her work is stolen by rivals, she looks for another job. Moving to Birkbeck and shifting her focus to RNA in viruses, Rosalind builds a new, supportive team that makes great progress, but her work is cut tragically short when she dies of cancer. VERDICT As she does so well, Benedict (The Mystery of Mrs. Christie; with Victoria Christopher Murray, The Personal Librarian) again illuminates an overlooked female historical figure, accessibly highlighting Franklin's scientific achievements and also depicting some of her personal life.—Melissa DeWild, Comstock Park, MI
2021-11-16
Dr. Rosalind Franklin, whose pivotal role in the discovery of DNA was overlooked, gets her due in Benedict’s scholarly novel.
The story begins in 1947, with Franklin’s Paris period. After the unwelcoming attitude of London’s scientific community, the atmosphere of the Paris lab is exhilarating for the 26-year-old chemist. There, her gender and bluntness are not held against her, and she fits right in with her fellow researchers. Her expertise in X-ray crystallography, a technique for documenting molecular structures, is honed while studying coal and carbons. But in 1951, a distracting obsession with her womanizing supervisor, Jacques Mering, whom she wisely rebuffs, drives her back to London and a fellowship at King’s College, where she deploys crystallography to map DNA molecules. Her path crosses those of other DNA sleuths, including her fractious colleague Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick and James Watson, two Cambridge researchers who will later claim all the glory and the Nobel Prize. Though her minute detailing of Franklin’s experiments, not to mention the data-freighted dialogue, can be eye-glazing, Benedict’s conclusions are sound: Franklin is way ahead of the men in verifying the structure of DNA and its helix shape. But Franklin’s methodical habits in amassing data work against her in the race to take credit for her groundbreaking discoveries. The men, especially Wilkins, who undermines her at every turn, and Watson, who’s not above snooping in her workspace, don’t share Franklin’s qualms about publishing results based on incomplete research. After leaving what would now be described as the hostile work environment at King’s for Birkbeck College, Franklin’s work on RNA paves the way for antiviral vaccines. But the denouement drags as Benedict seems unsure whether her protagonist should bridle at her unfair treatment or simply move on, as the real Franklin seems to have done, leaving her scores to be settled by others, posthumously. The cancer that killed Franklin in 1958 may have been attributable to long-term exposure to X-rays—like many of her peers, she was cavalier about safety precautions.
Wise behavior seldom makes for electrifying fiction.