August Books 29) Galileo's Daughter: A Drama of Science, Faith and Love, by Dava Sobel

[nwhyte]

Galileo was born in 1564, two months before Shakespeare, but he outlived the English playwright by 26 years. Indeed, if Galileo too had died in 1616, he would be remembered as a promising observer and mathematician, killed off shortly after a theological rebuke came his way from Cardinal Bellarmine - his only major work then published was The

Comments

[nickbarnes]

I find Sobel consistently tolerable, which for pop science history is saying something.
On Italian convents, and the fate of women often unwillingly entered into them, see also "Sacred Hearts" by Sarah Dunant, recently dramatized in a kajillion parts on Woman's Hour. It came across as a good-enough read that I will pick it up if I see it in the library. The convent is 16th C rather than 17th, but otherwise pertinent.

[mizkit]

I was disappointed with Galileo's Daughter, because it wasn't about her! I really wanted it to be! ...it did, however, make me want to write a SF novel about her...

[qatsi]

I missed this when it was posted, but have just spotted it thanks to your end-of-month posting. Looks interesting, this is one of the books that has been waiting for some time on my shelves ...