“Her quietude was not weakness; it was an ardent watchfulness that would be replaced by a roar when required.”–Marie Benedict, The Other Einstein
Mileva “Mitza” Maric is a Serbian woman whose parents are convinced she will never find a man to marry because of her pronounced limp. Her brilliance in math and science are also seen as an impediment to that goal. She embraces a life of scholarship and travels to Switzerland to study since women can be accepted into their university programs. It is here that she meets Albert Einstein. They are both brilliant and their chemistry is undeniable, resulting in an affair and eventually marriage. Mitza and Einstein collaborate on several papers but Mitza is never given any credit. Author Marie Benedict postulates that Mitza is the true genius behind Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Benedict weaves a fascinating story of love, betrayal, loss, and gutting disappointment to give us a glimpse into the life of an amazing woman.
This is an engaging story of historical fiction. There is a lot of controversy regarding Mitza’s contribution to Einstein’s work and Benedict does cherry pick some of the information to support her theory. It is impossible to know what the truth is at this point, but one thing is certain–Einstein may have been a genius but he was a terrible husband.
Content Advisory: Some language, references to sex