I am such a fan of Marie Benedict's novels and how they shed light on amazing women that have been sometimes overshadowed or overlooked by history. Her Hidden Genius is a captivating novel about Rosalind Franklin and her work on DNA research. Last year, I had read The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson and it touched on the contributions that Rosalind Franklin made, so I was eager to delve into this fictional work that I knew would also be superbly researched.

Her Hidden Genius will make you appreciate the dedication Rosalind Franklin had to her research and her desire to contribute something to society. It will also infuriate you how Rosalind was often treated by some of her male peers. It will sadden you that her life and brilliance were cut short, but it will inspire you that her legacy still glows bright and through Her Hidden Genius more people will learn of her work.

As always, Marie Benedict writes a marvelous novel that I can't wait to recommend. I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While a little heavy on science I really enjoyed this book. It was so interesting to learn about the race to learn more about DNA. I liked how the MC was strong and how much it enforced how important STEM is and how it put forward a woman in STEM.

Pub date: Jan 25, 2022
Genre: historical fiction
In one sentence: In the 1950s, Rosalind Franklin is using X-ray crystallography to unravel the mysteries of DNA, but she can't escape the sexism and competition of the science world.

Rosalind Franklin is an idol for many women in biological research, including me, so I was so excited to read this fictionalized version of her story. Sadly, a lot of the issues she encountered with sexism and cutthroat competition are still an issue today. Her Hidden Genius shows readers how impressive Franklin's accomplishments were - she conducting pioneering research in chemistry and then switched to biology with much success. She was a scientific purist - thorough and careful, interested in knowledge and understanding of the natural world rather than fame. Benedict gives her quite a way with words - I often found myself highlighting her comebacks and musings.

I loved the balance between science and personal life in the book. Benedict doesn't shy away from details about Franklin's scientific discoveries, covering findings on the A and B forms of DNA. She depicted the laboratory atmosphere well - some laboratories are collegial and collaborative, while others can be very lonely, and Franklin experienced both.

I'm really glad that Marie Benedict is bringing Rosalind Franklin's story to a larger audience through this book. I would definitely recommend this one to women (and men) in STEM fields, but I think readers who like historical fiction and stories about strong women should enjoy this book too. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review posted to Goodreads 12/3/21; posted to Instagram 1/22/22.

I was able to read this one just under the wire, and I'm so glad I did. Rosalind Franklin is a brilliant woman whose entire life revolves around science - it is where she feels safe, where she feels competent, and where she is (sometimes) respected for her work. She has been relatively erased from the history of DNA research, and this was a fascinating read that kept the balance between character development, a driving plot, and interesting historical background.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this book. Rosalind Franklin is such an important person who never receives the credit for which she is due. The story opens with Rosalind joining a lab in France, in what the reader can assume is the middle of her career. I wish that we had more background on who Franklin was as a person before we knew her as a scientist. There was also so much information thrown at the reader in the beginning of the novel that I felt disconnected from the characters from the very start.

Rosalind Franklin is a brilliant but different woman. As a woman, she is not treated with respect for her intellect in England, but she is treated as an equal while working at a lab she adores in Paris. She is totally devoted to science and when she is assigned to work on DNA she believes that she can discover the secrets of life. After two years of work she is very close to revealing the structure of DNA when some other scientists have stolen her research and are claiming credit for the research. This is a very good book that I recommend,

Beloved author Marie Benedict once again introduces readers to an overlooked woman who changed history. HER HIDDEN GENIUS is a fictionalized account of the life of Rosalind Franklin, whose life-changing discoveries were central to our understanding of the molecular structures of DNA.

With roots going back to King David, the founder of Jerusalem, the esteemed Franklin family is devoted to using their wealth and education to serve their extended relatives, the Jewish community and the citizens of England. Raised with a predilection toward acts of service, the Franklin children are highly educated and trained in the acts of conversation and debate. In all of these regards, Rosalind was in perfect alignment with her family’s ambitions. Where she strayed, however, was in her desire to devote her life to science, using her brilliant mind to help others not through charity, good acts or a suitable marriage, but through a salaried position as a researcher.

When we meet Rosalind, the year is 1947. She has just joined the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques in Paris, France, to continue her studies of the atomic structure of coal using X-ray crystallography. Having already worked in similar labs in England, Rosalind is anxious about her new colleagues. She has seen how other scientists, particularly men, look down upon her or accuse her of being brusque or combative when she corrects them or offers suggestions simply because she is a woman.

Fortunately, Rosalind is immediately surprised by the team at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques. The magnetic head of the lab, Jacques Mering, welcomes her warmly, praising her work and expressing his excitement at having her join them. Her fellow researchers --- men and women, she is delighted to note --- are equally friendly and inviting, and she is soon inducted into their found family, sharing lunches, political debates and even countryside hiking trips with them. Refreshingly, neither Rosalind nor her peers have been assigned research projects and are instead encouraged to explore their own interests while observing others’ in order to form an organic and open stream of dialogue and ideas. With the freedom to follow her impressive mind, Rosalind’s experiments soar. She is soon making waves in the science community and publishing a series of articles about her findings.

But Rosalind’s success comes at a price: she has caught the eye of Mering in more ways than one. Although she remains dedicated to her work, she cannot deny that even when she is immersed in X-rays and samples, she is always aware of her supervisor’s proximity. “Brilliant in the ways of the atom but oblivious in the ways of the world,” Rosalind begins an affair with Mering that can only end in heartbreak. When the relationship takes a turn, she flees for England, much to the delight of her imposing father, who believes her work to be a denouncement of the family’s priorities.

In 1951, Rosalind accepts a position as a Turner and Newall Fellow at King’s College, working in a department led by Professor John Turton Randall. Whereas in France she could study what she wanted, here she is assigned to use her knowledge of X-ray crystallography to map the critical part of a living cell, her first foray into biology. She learns that there is a race to be the first to uncover the structure of DNA before other scientists, labs or countries do the same, and that Professor Randall believes she will be the one to help his lab make history. Rosalind is assisted by young doctoral student Raymond Gosling, and she is relieved when the two get on swimmingly, though she continues to struggle with fitting her progressive Parisian influences into a tighter, more conservative English ideal.

As Rosalind and Gosling inch closer to exposing the structure of DNA, another scientist, Maurice Wilkins (an assistant director of biophysics whose photograph of DNA provides some of the foundation for Rosalind’s work), begins to insert himself into her experiments. When her findings begin to outshine his own, the tension mounts. With the stakes rising to be the first to definitively identify DNA and its role in biology, Rosalind becomes determined to continue to contribute to the scientific community she holds dear, no matter the cost to her reputation or safety.

Rosalind’s career, weighed down by discrimination, betrayal and misogyny, was cut devastatingly short, and she has been largely overlooked since. In HER HIDDEN GENIUS, Benedict shows her readers why this is a grave error. Just as she did in THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM, she proves herself adept at distilling complex scientific explanations and experiments (at least to my mind) without dumbing them down or patronizing her readers. The result feels like attending the best college lecture you ever had, equal parts educational and invigorating. Even better, she turns into poetry the most complex scientific ideas, evoking her own career as a writer when Rosalind explains, “I want to learn the language that X-ray crystallography can teach me…. How many minute realms can it give me access to?” As always, Benedict writes with grace and cadence, the beauty of her prose perfectly matched by the serious historical topics she writes about.

There is so much to gain from HER HIDDEN GENIUS: a critical understanding of the history of biological science, a respect for the overlooked women who contributed major findings to the scientific community, and best of all, a new feminist icon to celebrate. With her trademark compassion and admiration, Benedict displays a deep understanding of Rosalind as a woman (not just as a scientist), making a strong case for a revision to the male-dominated history we are so often told.

Like many of Benedict’s readers, I say this every time I finish one of her books: this is my favorite yet.

"Her Hidden Genius" is another winner from one of my favorite authors and fellow Pittsburgher, Marie Benedict. It's the story of Doctor Rosalind Franklin, the brilliant English scientist who was instrumental in the discovery of the secrets of the DNA molecule. Any woman who has ever disappointed her family because the life she choses is different than what is expected of her by society can relate to Rosalind, who faces blatant sexism, criticism from her family, and roadblocks to her success simply because she is a woman. She chooses to dedicate herself to the pursuit of her science instead of to a husband and children, an unusual life for a woman in the 1940s and 1950s. Though, as so often occurs for women, she did not receive the credit she deserved during her lifetime, Doctor Rosalind Franklin (never Rosey) changed the world as we know it and paved the way for the other women scientists who came after her. She accomplished much for her science during her short life, eventually giving her life for it.

This is a book for every woman who has been told to be more feminine and less adversarial; to fulfill society's expectations instead of her own desires. It's a book for every woman who tries to eke out a career in a male dominated profession, despite judgment; for women like me who have been mistaken for the paralegal or secretary instead of the attorney in the courtroom. Thank you Marie Benedict for continuing to write about the real-life strong women of the past so that we women of the future can learn from them and continue their legacy of greatness. Thank you for telling the stories that deserve to be told.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this fabulous and educational book, in exchange for my honest review.

Marie Benedict always chooses interesting historical figures for her books. This one centers around Rosalind Franklin, a (rare) female scientist in the 1940s and 1950s who was actually behind the discovery of the helix shape of DNA. I had never heard of Franklin before this book, and it's such a shame that her name is not more well-known as an important, inspiring feminist in the world of science.

Unfortunately, the style of the book didn't work for me. Benedict has a tendency to include a lot of dates and facts so that the story can feel tedious. I love historical fiction where information is woven into the story in a seamless way, but I couldn't get past the feeling that facts were included simply to show how much research was done rather than in an organic way of storytelling. Some of my favorite genre writers like Martha Hall Kelly and Ellen Marie Wiseman seem to draw me into the time period in a way that makes me feel surrounded by history - this book failed to do that in my eyes.

I hope Benedict continues to highlight women like this in her books because it does help create a more well-rounded and accurate picture of history. Just not sure I'll be reading her novels in the future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️HER HIDDEN GENIUS by Marie Benedict

Book #3 of 2022

I was able to get my hands on this book early thanks to NetGalley. I have enjoyed the author’s other books (The Mystery of Mrs Christie and The Personal Librarian). Each of her books uncovers stories of women in history that may not be as well known.

This book was about Rosalind Franklin, a chemist whose research helped to discover the structure of DNA. As I was reading I had to look up more about Rosalind online. In doing so, I gave myself a spoiler! I had to finish the book to see how things got to the point that they did.

I’m not a big history buff, so this is a fun way to learn! This book will be coming out on Tuesday, January 25th! Definitely a great read!

Marie Benedict never lets me down. As always, this was a book that made me think, appreciate women and
find the behaviors of men despicable. I love smart, clever women in books and BOOOOOO men (in books and life) that diminish what women actually DO in the world. This is a worth-it read and i will continue to champion writer's that high-light smart women.

What a pleasure to read this book and the story of Dr. Rosalind Franklin. I'm dismayed that hers is a name I hadn't known before reading Benedict's fictional account of her life. I think thanks are in order to Marie Benedict for bringing more light to Dr. Franklin!

Dr. Rosalind Franklin is a young woman in Europe having just survived WWII. She's embarking on a new journey in France with a group of fellow researchers. While her specialty at the time was physical chemistry, she learned how to use an x-ray crystallography machine, quickly becoming an expert in this science.

Thus started her research into the molecular structure of DNA. Dr. Franklin was an integral part in discovering the science and went largely uncredited for a great while. The scientists who won the "race" to proving the helical structure of DNA were only able to do so with the aid of Dr. Franklin's extensive research. But you wouldn't have known that from the papers and results they published with no credit to her.

Dr. Rosalind Franklin dealt with misogyny throughout her lifetime and fought for her place every step of the way in her career. She was a force to be reckoned with and clearly a very intelligent woman. In addition to the amazing story Benedict wove, she included an author's note as well as an interview regarding the book.
It was illuminating. I was able to further read about Dr. Rosalind Franklin and the injustices she was dealt.
While some scientists of the time tried to discredit her, her friends and colleagues who knew her well were quick to defend her honor. Especially when unflattering and unkind descriptions of her were published posthumously by Dr. James Watson.

I love that I'm now able to know and share what I've learned of Dr. Rosalind Franklin and her contributions to science and life as we know it today.

Marie Benedict again brings us a woman who has not been a part of the main stream history lessons.
Rosalind Franklin became known as the female scientist who played a major role in the structure of DNA as a double helix, but only after her death. Rosalind's dedication to science in spite of the being in a male dominated environment is laudable. The story is thoroughly researched and deep in scientific information.

Rosalind is a woman scientist in a man’s world. She has struggled through her life fighting against the mainstream. However, Rosalind is determined to show the world what she can do! She knows she can find the building blocks of life and what makes all of us tick! And she believes nothing is going to stop her…until she gets cancer.

This is not my favorite book by this author. This story just drags in places. But, I did enjoy the science. I always do. I wrote a term paper in college about some of the types of the X-rays discussed in this story. So, parts of this did feel a bit like a text book. However, Marie Benedict always has a woman with a backbone as her main character. This is why I always enjoy her books. And Rosalind is a woman everyone needs to read about and learn from.

Need a book about a strong woman…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Hidden Genius demonstrates the important work in the field of science and how one person can so fiercely love it to give up all else. Benedict story provides fictional insight into one of sciences leading female researchers from the 1940's/50's. The story discusses the biases she faced in the labs, the betrayals and the toxicity from her male counterparts. Frustrated but never deterred, Rosalind Franklin sets out to better humankind with her work with DNA.

Her Hidden Genius is a true balance of historical information and fiction. It is a commanding story with memorable characters, places and lessons on DNA discoveries during this period. Here's hoping we continue to have more novels that shine the light on women's contributions in male dominated fields.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the advance reader copy.

Marie Benedict has a knack for highlighting overlooked women in history. In her latest novel, HER HIDDEN GENIUS, Benedict shines a light on the work of Rosalind Franklin and her essential role of discovering the double helix structure of DNA.

In post WWII Europe, Rosalind worked tirelessly to perfect her x-ray imaging and upheld ethical standards. I was infuriated as Rosalind’s male colleagues took credit for her work and treated her poorly because she was a woman.

At times, the story was bogged down by the scientific specifics and laboratory dynamics—but some readers may enjoy these details. Rosalind spent her life in the lab and her focus was her work. While I appreciate the author staying true to Rosalind’s life, I think the addition of a subplot regarding her personal life would have added more intrigue and narrative drive.

I’m thankful Rosalind’s story is out in the world and I appreciate the trend of sharing women’s stories from history that were previously overlooked.

What bold woman in history have you enjoyed reading about?

RATING: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)
PUB DATE: January 25, 2022

A big thank you to SOURCEBOOKS and NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

She was robbed.

I knew who Rosalind Franklin was. I studied her and knew her x-ray was the foundation that Watson and Crick used and claimed as their own, as they took credit for the double helix DNA. They could never have done that without her x-rays.
We need a movie and science textbooks rewritten to include her contributions to science, of which, we all enjoy today in numerous ways.

A must read for anyone who appreciated the truth and science.

I may have heard about Rosalind Franklin and her contributions to the science of DNA in passing, but I certainly didn't know any details. This historical fiction outlines those details and imagines Rosalind's world as she strives to be the best scientist in her field during a time when women are often displaced into assistant roles or shut out completely. Dr. Franklin was not only instrumental in our understanding of DNA while the males in her field took the honors for her discoveries, but a pioneer in X-ray science as well as a key researcher in uncovering the structure of viruses. This book gives a glimpse into her fascinating life and adventurous spirit. I absolutely loved this story! The scientific progress is explained in a clear manner, however the story sometimes is a bit slow and slightly repetitive in the middle (mentioning on several occasions how she is against communism, an atheist, and despises the arms race). Overall, the book is a satisfying, worthwhile and interesting read and highly recommended!

Benedict’s ability to inhabit historical characters with empathy and strength of mind shines again. I’m captivated by the dimension she gives her characters and the research put into every aspect of their story. Of course, this is speculative fiction but Benedict never strays from the probable. If you’re a fan of Benedict’s previous work, especially The Other Einstein, then you will enjoy this one.

Thank you so much to the publishers for sending me an advanced copy of Her Hidden Genius in exchange for my honest review.

I am a big fan of Marie Benedict and Her Hidden Genius was high on my list of anticipated books for 2022. I love how Benedict writes about strong women in history that haven't been in the spotlight all too much. This book is about Rosalind Franklin and her work in DNA. So well done and clever!