Report on discussion of "Biographies of Marie Curie" (****) October 9

[Sabine]

Marie Curie Biographies

The Book Clubbers met in the Kishore Mahbubani library to talk about a pioneering woman scientist, Marie Curie. We chose to read her biography written by her daughter Eve Curie as well as one written by Susan Quinn. Katie Day, our librarian, nudged us to go through a picture book ‘biography’ by Lauren Redniss too.

We all agreed that Eve’s account of her mother’s life, although lovingly written, and filled with personal anecdotes and photographs, was not as objective and extensive as the one written by Susan Quinn. Apart from this one brief observation about the books per se, this book club meeting ended up being a discussion about the life of this extraordinary woman.

Marie Curie won not one but two Nobel Prizes for her work related to radioactivity and the discovery of new radioactive elements. What is less popularly known is her role as a wife, a mother of two girls, a heroic and patriotic French citizen during the World War 1, and a tragic romantic heroine mired in a social scandal.

We were amazed at her tenacity to work despite the odds stacked against her. From her life under an oppressive regime in Poland, to working in a scientific community dominated by men, to being a much sought-after female icon across the Atlantic in the United States, we Book Clubbers undertook this journey through these insightful biographies.

And we agreed that although she lived in the early part of the previous century, Marie Curie is an inspiring figure and a true female icon even today.
-Neetu Aggarwal