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Marie Benedict’s The Other Einstein is a fascinating historical fiction book about the life of Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein’s first wife. She is largely unknown, and I was captivated to learn about her story and how her life intertwined with one of the most famous scientists in history.
Mileva was a physicist herself, brilliant at mathematics and studying alongside Einstein during his time at the Polytechnic University in Zurich, Switzerland. She was fascinated with understanding the world and seeing God’s pattern in the physical laws of the universe. She lived in Switzerland and Germany with Einstein (moving depending on job opportunities), and the story paints a vivid portrait of her life and relationship with Albert.
There is debate as to how much Mileva contributed to Einstein’s theories, but in Benedict’s novel, we see Mileva playing a pivotal if not leading role in Einstein’s work.
Mileva’s struggles were multifaceted and her story was heartbreaking as well as inspiring. She persevered through misogyny in the education system and from her acquaintances, racism against Serbians, prejudice against her disability (she had a limp), being forced to give up her scientific ambitions when she became pregnant, accepting emotional abuse from her husband, and losing her firstborn child to illness. I can’t say I enjoyed the book so much as was fascinated by it. As a university physics graduate myself, I was frustrated to hear about how difficult it was for women back then.
We have come so far in what women can do in society. If Mileva had been alive in a time like today, with the freedom women have, she might have been revered as one of the world’s greatest scientists, instead of or alongside her husband. History brushes Einstein’s poor treatment of his wife as well as his affairs under the rug, but digging into his personal story, it is clear that although he was a brilliant physicist, he was a poor husband and father. I was angry as I read about this, feeling that I had been duped into believing that Einstein was a great man: yes, he was a great physicist, but he was not someone to admire on a personal level.
The Other Einstein is a poignant and captivating read, with detailed, beautiful writing that transports the reader from the mountain peaks of Switzerland to the university halls and cafes of the cities. Marie Benedict is skilled at weaving together a woman’s true story while making it read like fiction that keeps the reader invested in the characters.
Rated: Mild. The book includes significant mental and emotional abuse, as well as some instances of physical abuse, in a married relationship. There is closed-door intimacy and some description of undressing and kissing, but it is not described explicitly. A description of a woman in labor includes details of blood and the pain involved. A child dies due to illness. Infidelity in marriage is part of the story, though no descriptions are given of intimacy.
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