It is a common enough tale: A wife, daughter, sister, or mother who began a career at the side of a man in her life, only to have her considerable contributions to their shared life goals minimized to a footnote in history or erased from them altogether.
When working on my novel, Mademoiselle Eiffel, I wanted to highlight an important woman in history who may otherwise have gone unnoticed. The Eiffel Tower is the most iconic landmark in the world; recognizable within seconds to most people who have lived since its construction in 1889. While Gustave Eiffel is a well-known figure, his daughter Claire has slipped through the cracks of history almost entirely. After the death of her mother, Claire served as her father’s trusted advisor and confidante in addition to helping raise her four younger siblings and managing their household. Her support and social prowess were key to his ultimate success in constructing what was at the time, and still remains in some circles, a very controversial structure.
I was inspired to put together this list of other books that highlight women who have played key roles in iconic innovations, until these novels plucked these women and their stories from obscurity. This is a round up of some fascinating novels concerning brave women innovators and their contributions to modern life.
The Woman at the Wheel by Penny Haw
The story of Bertha Benz, wife of Karl Benz, famed inventor of the gas-powered combustion engine that made the modern automobile possible. Before Haw’s brilliantly crafted novel, Bertha was a largely unknown figure whose drive (pun intended) and determination was a direct factor in her husband’s success and the development of a device that has, for good or ill, shaped the modern landscape and impacted all of our daily lives.
Also by Penny Haw: The Invincible Miss Cust and Follow me to Africa (forthcoming)
The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood
This unknown story of Emily Roebling, who oversaw the lion’s share of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge owing to her husband’s extended illness due to Caisson Disease and is a remarkable account of a woman whose engineering skills were an anomaly for a woman of her times. She had the technical expertise to carry on her husband’s work and complete the famed Brooklyn Bridge which is used and admired by millions to this day.
Also by Tracey Enerson Wood: Katherine, the Wright Sister and The President’s Wife.
The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
Perhaps one of the best-known novels in this niche. The Other Einstein is the true story of famed physicist Albert Einstein’s first wife, Mitza. Few know that she was a partner in Einstein’s research in relativity, but wasn’t credited for fear the involvement of a woman would jeopardize the credibility of the work—not to mention injuring Einstein’s formidable ego. As the back copy says, “There may not be room for more than one genius in the marriage”, which is all too common a theme for brilliant women who marry insecure men. A gem of a book.
Also by Marie Benedict: Her Hidden Genuis and The Only Woman in the Room
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
This one may be a bit of an outlier, but Elizabeth Zott is not plucked from actual history, but is a wonderful analog for women in science in the 1950s and 60s who were forced to work under the sponsorship of a man to be given lab space. While Elizabeth is cast out of her lab after the death of the brilliant scientist she had come to love, she takes science into the homes of millions via a wildly popular cooking show.
Also highly recommended: The Woman with the Cure by Lynn Cullen, the woman who was instrumental in discovering the cure for polio.
English (US) · 