"The Other Einstein" by Marie Benedict

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and was immediately intrigued by the description. This book is historical fiction focused on Mileva Maric - Albert Einstein's first wife. Mileva was very well educated. In fact, she and Albert met in Zurich where both of them were studying physics at the Polytechnic. Mileva dreamed of dedicating her life to science and her contribution to Einstein's theory of relativity is still debated. Was she simply a sounding board for his brilliant ideas, or did she in fact author some of them?

Whatever the case may be, she was his supporter, his helpmeet, she gave birth to his children and took care of the housework. On the other hand, it is unquestionable that her relationship with Albert derailed her own scientific aspirations. She became pregnant out of wedlock during the last year of her studies; and even though she had been a promising student, she failed her final exams and never finished her dissertation. She had to flee in shame to her parents' house in her native Serbia, while Albert desperately tried to secure a job which would allow them to marry.

Her marriage to Albert was an unhappy one. Their first daughter died of scarlet fever, and according to the book, Albert never saw her. Mileva and Albert had two more children, on of whom later succumbed to a mental illness. The marriage that started as a love story and a scientific partnership of two brilliant minds, degenerated into a union where two people bitterly resented and barely tolerated each other. Mileva was also deeply disappointed to be shut out of Albert's later scientific work.

As Marie Benedict aptly noted, Mileva's story is not unlike that of many brilliant women who forego their own professional aspirations and end up living in the shadow of their husbands. I also could not help but wonder, would we know the name of Marie Curie if her husband had not been such an adamant supporter of her work but claimed all of their shared ideas to himself? I highly recommend this book. It does show Albert in less than favorable light, but the story itself feels very real and I could truly relate to Mileva's sad story. 5 out of 5 stars.