Marie Curie walked so others could run

A little bit of background📃

I must confess to never having read anything much about the incredible scientist, Marie Skłodowska-Curie. I could see that the subtitle of the book on display at the library suggested a focus on the pathway that Mme Skłodowska-Curie forged for female scientists, but I was still keen to start somewhere to better understand the most notable female scientist of all time.

The elements of Marie Curie: How the glow of radium lit a path for women in science | Published October 2024 | Read April 2025

The author✏️

Dava Sobel (born 1947) is an American scientific writer. She has a science degree from Binghamton University in New York and honorary doctors of letters degrees awarded by the University of Bath and Middlebury College in Vermont. Her works include Longitude, the story of English clockmaker, John Harrison, a portrait of Maria Celeste, Galileo's daughter, and The glass universe, a celebration of the Harvard Computers women who processed astronomical data at Harvard College Observatory at the beginning of the 20th century. Her books have achieved critical acclaim, most notably finalist status for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for Galileo's daughter. Fun fact according to Wikipedia: Asteroid 30935 Davasobel was named after her for her literary work in physics.

The subject matterℹ️

I understand that Galileo's daughter provides insight into Galileo though his relationship with his daughter and so The elements of Marie Curie takes the same approach by exploring the life and work of the brilliant scientist alongside the women who became her legacy. The book is a mix of Mme Curie's personal life, her tireless scientific pursuits, and a collection of female scientists who came in and out of her life and her laboratory.

My thoughts on the book💭

It's odd that, given Sobel's pedigree, The elements of Marie Curie is rather a bland book. The opening chapters had me engaged, though, and Sobel presents a rich history of Marie and her formidable family. I stuck with it as I was keen to expand my knowledge, but the narrative gets bogged down in uninteresting and unnecessary scientific detail - although I lack the science to understand it - that I imagine would deter most laypeople from fully appreciating Marie's achievements.

The book tries to do what it says on the tin, but ultimately doesn't really demonstrate how Marie "lit a path for women in science", as the book's subtitle claims. As a social historian, I did enjoy reading about all the female scientists featured in the book but their inclusion didn't feel like the celebration of women in science that it could have been. Sobel basically presents a bunch of mini biographies. The book lacks a central theme connecting all the women's stories together and the mix of biography, science, social commentary and female scientists doesn't work as none of the elements are given as much treatment as they deserve.

My key learnings🪴

Marie Skłodowska-Curie was an incredibly dedicated scientist, facing formidable economic, political, institutional and gender barriers to make a significant contribution to science through isolating new elements and shaping the early age of radioactivity. She won two Nobel prizes! Marie seemed to be the most unassuming of women, getting on with her work despite the barriers and the grief she felt for many years at the loss of her beloved husband, Pierre. What an inspirational woman she was, in character, intellect, and perseverance.

In sum📝

Dava Sobel never seems to elevate her writing to meet the stellar achievements and character of the incredible Marie Skłodowska-Curie. I still learnt a lot about the brilliant scientist and I appreciate what Sobel was trying to do, but the book lacks heart and doesn't live up to its intentions. I didn't get a strong sense of how Mme Curie forged a path for female scientists other than her groundbreaking work in and of itself. I'm giving the book three stars to pay homage to Marie rather than for Sobel's writing.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐