In post World War II France, Rosalind Franklin enters a new position at a lab that welcomes her as an equal, an opportunity she didn't have in England. Rosalind loves the camaraderie of the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l'État and becomes one of the top researchers in X-ray crystallography. Rosalind decides to leave France and join King's College London where she is given a new research topic to use her expertise in X-Ray crystallography for- DNA. Rosalind is unwittingly thrown into the race to figure out the properties and form of DNA. Rosalind finds competition within her own lab as her colleague Maurice Wilkins conspires against her and collaborates with Watson and Crick who are not even supposed to be working on DNA. Despite the difficult conditions, Rosalind pushes through until the hidden details of DNA reveal themselves to her.
As a female scientist I have always revered the female pioneers who paved the way and made it possible for me to enter my field. While Her Hidden Genius is a work of fiction, it has obviously been meticulously researched and includes many facts of Rosalind's life while researching DNA. Rosalind had an incredibly difficult path to forge. Despite her family being wealthy, Rosalind was a Jewish woman in post World War II Europe entering the field of scientific research. Immediately, Rosalind's passion for the science, details and finding the truth shone through. I was immersed in Rosalind's time in the lab and the atmosphere of the science labs at the time. The writing did a wonderful job of explaining the science of Rosalind's projects while showing the human side of the science as well. I enjoyed reading about the camaraderie in the lab as well as the competition. I was enraged as Rosalind questioned her brusqueness of her tone and words to the men around her while those men were quite literally stealing her data. Rosalind amazed me with her ability to move forward and fight for her science as well as her grace and acceptance that Watson and Crick published their results first based on her research. While Rosalind might have been forgotten for a time and seen through the eyes of her male researchers, Her Hidden Genius is a step in giving Rosalind Franklin the recognition she deserves.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
As a female scientist I have always revered the female pioneers who paved the way and made it possible for me to enter my field. While Her Hidden Genius is a work of fiction, it has obviously been meticulously researched and includes many facts of Rosalind's life while researching DNA. Rosalind had an incredibly difficult path to forge. Despite her family being wealthy, Rosalind was a Jewish woman in post World War II Europe entering the field of scientific research. Immediately, Rosalind's passion for the science, details and finding the truth shone through. I was immersed in Rosalind's time in the lab and the atmosphere of the science labs at the time. The writing did a wonderful job of explaining the science of Rosalind's projects while showing the human side of the science as well. I enjoyed reading about the camaraderie in the lab as well as the competition. I was enraged as Rosalind questioned her brusqueness of her tone and words to the men around her while those men were quite literally stealing her data. Rosalind amazed me with her ability to move forward and fight for her science as well as her grace and acceptance that Watson and Crick published their results first based on her research. While Rosalind might have been forgotten for a time and seen through the eyes of her male researchers, Her Hidden Genius is a step in giving Rosalind Franklin the recognition she deserves.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
