Galileo's Daughter: An Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love: Amazon.co.uk: Dava Sobel: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

Galileo Galilei is famous for many things: for his science (Einstein called him the "father of modern physics"); for his flamboyant style (he wrote in Italian not Latin, enlivened texts with rough humour, argued loudly in staged debates) and for his harsh treatment by the Catholic Church. What's less well known are the details of his private life--a life that, as Dava Sobel points out in Galileo's Daughter, was just as complex as the scientist's public life. Galileo had three illegitimate children; the book's title refers to the oldest, Virginia, later Suor Maria Celeste (she took the name in acknowledgement of her father's fascination with the stars). Unable to marry because of her illegitimate status, Virginia entered a convent at 13 and maintained a lifelong correspondence with her father. Sobel has translated Virginia's surviving letters for the first time and, combining those letters, commentary, and gorgeous illustrations, she sets out in Galileo's Daughter to illuminate a different side of Galileo, the father deeply committed to his daughter and to her faith.

Virginia's letters are tender, witty and intelligent. They are crammed with details of day-to-day life in Florence: "The broad beans are set out to dry and their stalks fed for breakfast to the little mule, who has become so haughty that she refuses to carry anyone." Sobel's commentaries brilliantly help to put the letters into context. "Most of Suor Maria Celeste's letters travelled in the pocket of a messenger or in a basket laden with laundry, sweetmeats or herbal medicines." But life in the convent was not idyllic. Virginia was surrounded by women in various states of mental collapse and her letters describing those collapses are vivid and at times terrifying. The bubonic plague, too, affected the nuns just as it did the outside world.

But what emerges most strikingly from these letters is the degree to which Virginia supported her father. Suor Maria Celeste may never have left the convent but in her letters she accompanies her father through physical and intellectual trials. We see her planning her brother's wedding (which she can't attend) and copying out her father's manuscripts. The relationship between father and daughter "is not a tale of abuse or rejection or intentional stifling of abilities", writes Sobel. "Rather, it is a love story, a tragedy and a mystery." --Simon Ings --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Amazon.co.uk Review

Virginia's letters are tender, witty and intelligent. They are crammed with details of day-to-day life in Florence: "The broad beans are set out to dry and their stalks fed for breakfast to the little mule, who has become so haughty that she refuses to carry anyone." Sobel's commentaries brilliantly help to put into contextual the letters. "Most of Suor Maria Celeste's letters travelled in the pocket of a messenger or in a basket laden with laundry, sweetmeats or herbal medicines." But life in the convent was not idyllic. Virginia was surrounded by women in various states of mental collapse and her letters describing those collapses are vivid and at times terrifying. The bubonic plague, too, affected the nuns just as it did the outside world.

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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

Better Title: Galileo AND His Daughter 22 Feb 2004

By Imperial Topaz

Format:Paperback

We read this book as the monthly selection in our bookclub. The book is very interesting, but definitely NOT a FAST read. Several people in our bookclub commented that they felt the book was too long, and not well-edited. Some people had read Longitude, by the same author, and said that it was a better book. Nevertheless, when we discussed what we would have taken out, every person had a different opinion. For each of the things that one person in the group didn’t care for, another person in the group enjoyed. So I think it was fine.

Some people were disappointed that the book turned out to be more about Galileo than his daughter. But for me, I enjoyed that it was. I felt the last third of the book was the best. I learned a LOT from reading this book. Sobel brings the characters to life. I feel like I know Pope Urban now as a human being. I also know Galileo and his daughter both as human beings, just as if I had met all of these people in my current life. Some people in our group were not interested in the science presented in the book, but really enjoyed reading about all the herbal and plant remedies used during the Middle Ages. The herbal things didn’t interest me, but I LOVED the science discussions presented in the book.

No matter WHAT your interest, this book is a slow, but very worthwhile read. It stimulated me to want to read much more on many of the subjects that were only touched on in the book.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

More than just a biography of Galileo or his Daughter. 11 Feb 2003

By Martin Ohara

This is more than just a biography of Galileo as a scientist, it is a personal account of his ability as a father, politician and a social commentary on life in Italy in the 16th/17th century. The scope is centred around Galileo’s correspondence with his eldest daughter and is superbly researched from the surviving letters and papal records of his trial. This is a superbly crafted, beautifully executed book that lives up to the sub-title “a drama of science, faith and love”. This deserves as much praise as the authors more famous book “Longitude”, it really is as good.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

A history of the love of a daughter for her father. 13 Oct 2000

By A Customer

This is a truly wonderful book, which through the letters of sour Maria Celeste,(Galileo's daughter), gives us a glimpse into the private domestic life of one of the worlds most publically troubled and greatest scientists. Dava Sobel has woven a marvellous tapestry in which Galileo's public and private life are laid out against the backdrop of political and religious intrigue and the ongoing quest for scientific advancement and understanding. This is a warm human book which is accesible to the non scientific mind and is a moving account of the love of a daughter for her father.

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