While I was reading, I held up the book cover to my keen scientist, sixteen year old daughter. I think this book does well at de-mystifying why she didn't gain more recognition. Yes, she was almost certainly neglected by some within the science community, but it would have been more unusual if this was not the case for a woman working within a male dominated field in post war Britain.

I found Rosalind to be hard working, determined and successful within her own rights, which was recognised by those who knew her best. In analysing Rosalind Franklin's contribution to science, some have scathingly accused those around her of plotting to sideline her work, or heralded her as a feminist icon, a 'Sylvia Plath of science' I don't really agree and though I think there were many setbacks within her life, before her tragically early death, I didn't find myself thinking of her as a victim. Whether or not you have an interest in science, I think this book has a lot of absorbing material, which kept me wanting to read more until the very end.

Parts of the book seemed a little hashed together, from personal and scientific documents, but on the whole it was an easy and enjoyable read. I found the science content easy to grasp, though somewhat in depth and I enjoyed the interspersed facts about Rosalind's personal life. I hadn't heard of Rosalind Franklin before picking this up and know little about science advances in DNA, though I had heard of Crick and Watson - which I guess is the point of this book. So this one was already on to a head start with me. If they are well written and about half interesting people (not minor celebrities) then they're one of my favourite sorts of book. Her biography of the scientist James Watson was published in 2016. Maddox had two children and two stepchildren. She was vice-president of the Hay-on-Wye Festival of Literature, a member of the Editorial Board of British Journalism Review, and a past chairman of the Broadcasting Press Guild. 2009), were actively involved within the local community. Maddox lived in London and spent time at her cottage near Brecon, Wales, where she and her husband, Sir John Maddox (d. Maddox was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999. She received the Los Angeles Times Biography Award, the Silver PEN Award, the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, and the Whitbread Biography Prize. Yeats, and Rosalind Franklin have been widely acclaimed. Her biographies of Elizabeth Taylor, D.H. She was a book reviewer for The Observer, The Times, New Statesman, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and regularly contributed to BBC Radio 4 as a critic and commentator.

Born in Brockton, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1932, Brenda Lee Power Murphy graduated from Harvard University (class of 1953) with a degree in English literature and also studied at the London School of Economics.

Rosalind Franklin by Brenda Maddox