Marie Curie and Her Daughters: The Private Lives of Science's First Family

Published to widespread acclaim, in Marie Curie and Her Daughters, science writer Shelley Emling shows that far from a shy introvert toiling away in her laboratory, the famed scientist and two-time Nobel prize winner was nothing short of an iconoclast. Emling draws on personal letters released by Curies only granddaughter to show how Marie influenced her daughters yet let them blaze their own paths: Irene followed her mothers footsteps into science and was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission; Eve traveled the world as a foreign correspondent and then moved on to humanitarian missions. Emling also shows how Curie, following World War I, turned to America for help. Few people know about Curies close friendship with American journalist Missy Meloney, who arranged speaking tours across the country for Marie, Eve, and Irene. Months on the road, charming audiences both large and small, endeared the Curies to American women and established a lifelong relationship with the United States that formed one of the strongest connections of Maries life. Factually rich, personal, and original, this is an engrossing story about the most famous woman in science that rips the cover off the myth and reveals the real person, friend, and mother behind it.

Shelley Emling has written for the The New York Times, USA Today, Fortune, Slate, The Wall Street Journal, The Times (London), The Huffington Post, FoxNews.com, Beliefnet.com, The Christian Science Monitor, and the International Herald Tribune. She launched one of the first blogs for the International Herald Tribune, called Raising the Roof. She is the author of the highly acclaimed The Fossil Hunter and lives in Montclair, New Jersey.