August 8

Galileo's Daughter (2009)

By Dava Sobel

Sobel, who has already produced works on the planets and Copernicus, is the perfect author to write a biography of Suor Maria Galilei.  Virginia was the oldest child of Galileo's union with Maria di Gamba.  She entered a convent at age 13, and became Sr Maria Celeste, an apothecary at her convent of poor Clares in Tuscany.  Written mostly through the letters sent by Sr Maria to her father, it is clear that she shared his brilliance and that she provided support and encouragement to her father as he faced both acclaim and rejection for his stunning discoveries that will alter the traditional understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos.  Unfortunately, the letters from Galileo himself have been lost, so this book reflects only the perspective of Sr Maria Celeste.  But even though she was cloistered, the letters (translated from the Italian by the author) provide a good window into the era (plague, diet, religion, culture), but also into the warm relationship between a famous father and his accomplished daughter.