Passionate Minds: Emilie Du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment
Passionate Minds: Emilie Du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment
Bodanis, David
product information
Condition: New, UPC: 9780307237217, Publication Date: Mon, October 1, 2007, Type: Paperback ,
join & start selling
description
8It was 1733 when the poet and philosopher Voltaire met Emilie du Ch telet, a beguiling--and married--aristocrat who would one day popularize Newton's arcane ideas and pave the way for Einstein's theories. In an era when women were rarely permitted any serious schooling, this twenty-seven-year-old's nimble conversation and unusual brilliance led Voltaire, then in his late thirties, to wonder, "Why did you only reach me so late?" They fell immediately and passionately in love.Through the prism of their tumultuous fifteen-year relationship we see the crumbling of an ancient social order and the birth of the Enlightenment. Together the two lovers rebuilt a dilapidated and isolated rural chateau at Cirey where they conducted scientific experiments, entertained many of the leading thinkers of the burgeoning scientific revolution, and developed radical ideas about the monarchy, the nature of free will, the subordination of women, and the separation of church and state. But their time together was filled with far more than reading and intellectual conversation. There were frantic gallopings across France, sword fights in front of besieged German fortresses, and a deadly burning of Voltaire's books by the public executioner at the base of the grand stairwell of the Palais de Justice in Paris. The pair survived court intrigues at Versailles, narrow escapes from agents of the king, a covert mission to the idyllic lakeside retreat of Frederick the Great of Prussia, forays to the royal gambling tables (where Emilie put her mathematical acumen to lucrative use), and intense affairs that bent but did not break their bond.Along with its riveting portrait of Voltaire as a vulnerable romantic, Passionate Minds at last does justice to the supremely unconventional life and remarkable achievements of Emilie du Ch telet--including her work on the science of fire and the nature of light. Long overlooked, her story tells us much about women's lives at the time of the Enlightenment. Equally important, it demonstrates how this graceful, quick-witted, and attractive woman worked out the concepts that would lead directly to the "squared" part of Einstein's revolutionary equation: E=mc2.Based on a rich array of personal letters, as well as writings from houseguests, neighbors, scientists, and even police reports, Passionate Minds is both panoramic and intimate in feeling. It is an unforgettable love story and a vivid rendering of the birth of modern ideas.
reviews

Be the first to write a review

member goods

No member items were found under this heading.

notems store

The Sea Book

by Milner, Charlotte

Hardcover /Hardcover

$11.99

Dragons

by London, Martha

Hardcover /Library Binding

$22.45

The Outcast Dead

by McNeil, Graham

Paperback /Mass Market Paperbound

$6.74

First Light of Day: A ...

by Steep, Michael J. T.

Hardcover /Hardcover

$21.00

listens & views

SIDE A

by JACK THE BOX

COMPACT DISC

out of stock

$16.99

NEW ERA

by BLACK BEAR CREEK

COMPACT DISC

out of stock

$13.99

LEATHER WINGS

by KNIGHT,SUSIE

COMPACT DISC

out of stock

$17.49

Return Policy

All sales are final

Shipping

No special shipping considerations available.
Shipping fees determined at checkout.
promoting relevance through notable postings ]

A notem is a meaningful post that highlights an experience, idea, topic of interest, an event ... whatever a member believes worthy of discussion. Each notem becomes a pathway by which to make meaningful connections.

notems is a free, global social network that rewards members by the number and quality of notems they post.

notemote® © . Privacy Policy. Developed by Hartmann Software Group