This book is a collection of those surviving letters, a wonderful look into the lives of both daughter and the famous scientist, galileo. Sobel, author of the bestselling longitude 1995, has elegantly translated the letters galileos eldest child, virginia, wrote to him and uses them as a leitmotif to illuminate their deep mutual love, religious faith, and dedication to science. That familiar tale is given a new slant by sobels translationfor the first time into englishof the 124 surviving letters to galileo by his daughter, suor maria celeste, a clarisse nun who. It also tells about the relationship between father and daughter, as the book was based on 124 letters maria celeste wrote to galileo while she lived in seclusion as a nun at the san matteo. A drama of science, faith and love paperback 6 nov. A historical memoir of science, faith, and love 9780802779656. Galileos daughter a historical memoir of science, faith, and love book. Its a biography of galileo filled primarily with contextual prose with a letter or two per chapter. A historical memoir of science, faith, and love is a book by dava sobel. Virginia, galileos oldest child, was born in padua on 12 august 1600. In the spring of 1999, dava sobel graciously let my students in history 333 galileo in context, read an early version of her book, galileos daughter. Despite the title and the premise that it is based off of suor maria celestes letters this book isnt really about galileos daughter and the letters are sparser than i. She was the daughter of the scientist galileo galilei and marina gamba.
In galileos daughter, sobel strikes a balance between the worldly exploits of galileo and the unsophisticated, quiet life of his cloistered daughter by juxtaposing galileos feats with letters from suor maria celeste. A reading of this book enables one to really appreciate phil glass opera. Meanwhile their brother, vincenzio, the youngest child of galileo and marinas union, had been legitimized in a fiat by the grand duke of tuscany. Galileo s daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenthcentury clash with catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. Her support was her fathers greatest source of strength. That familiar tale is given a new slant by sobels translationfor the first time into englishof the 124 surviving letters to galileo by his daughter, suor maria celeste. Her younger sister also took vows at the convent, but was not close to her father, and was an unwilling, whining, hypochondriacal nun. What did survive were sour maria celestes letters to galileo. It details the relationship between renaissance scientist galileo and. Her loving support, which galileo repaid in kind, proved to be her fathers greatest source of strength throughout his. Moving between galileos grand public life and maria celestes sequestered world, sobel illuminates the florence of the medicis and the. In this book he described the true nature of the via lactea milky way, sunspots, and the rotation of. A historical memoir of science, faith and love public library a book so fantastic that it has been blatantly.
Moreover, i beg you to be so kind as to send me that book of yours which has just been. Galileos daughter does much more than chronicle these familiar events. The eldest of his children virginia, who was renamed suor maria celeste when she became a nun, remained a source of continuous comfort, care, love and consolation throughout his life. The difference in social positions between the poor but patrician galilei family and marina in part explained why he never married marina, and marias illegitimacy forced her to be placed in the. Maria celeste virginia galilei 16001634 galileos daughter. This book was clearly a labor of love, well researched and with sympathetic, very human depictions of galileo, his daughter sister maria celeste, and other folks. A historical memoir of science, faith, and love dava soba, 1999 viking press 432 pp. While cloistered in a convent, galileos daughter, sister maria celeste, wrote over one hundred letters to her father.
Her mother, marina gamba, was galileos housekeeper. Inspired by a long fascination with galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of galileos daughter, a cloistered nun, dava sobel has written a biography unlike any other of the man albert einstein called the father of modern physics indeed of modern science altogether. Consequently, her letters to her father take the form of a omnipotent narrative. The letters of sister maria celeste to galileo, 16231633. In the book, galileos daughter, suor maria celeste, having been consigned to i was. As we know, galileo was vastly contested by his contemporaries, especiallay those who held the aristotalean and ptolemic structure of the universe and did not. Suor maria celestes letters provide another and different insight into galileos life as well as raising quite a few questions about the treatment of daughters especially illegitimate daughters in the. All three were born out of wedlock, and the two daughters were. In galileos daughter, dava sobel author of the bestselling longitude tells the story of the famous scientist and his illegitimate daughter, sister maria celeste. A historical memoir of science, faith, and love is a 1999 nonfiction book by dava sobel. Suor maria celeste was joined at the convent by her younger sister, livia, who took the name sister arcangela. The we of suor maria celestes letter speaks for herself and her sister, liviagalileos strange, silent second daughter, who also took the veil and vows at san matteo to become suor arcangela.
The we of suer maria celestes letter speaks for herself and her sister. Born virginia in 1600, she was thirteen when galileo placed her in a convent near him in florence, where she took the most appropriate name of suor maria celeste. In the spring of 1999, dava sobel graciously let my students in history 333 galileo in context, read an early version of her book, galileo s daughter. It is based on the surviving letters of galileo galileis daughter, the nun suor maria celeste. It is based on the surviving letters of galileo galilei s daughter, the nun suor maria celeste, and explores the relationship between galileo and his daughter. She also supplied the class with her translations of all 124 letters from maria celeste to galileo. But it would be a harder book to write, and, probably, to read. Moving between galileos grand public life and maria celestes sequestered. This book is a life of galileo as told from his letters to and from his daughter, maria celeste. The daughter of this books title is virginia, whose name became maria celeste when she took her vows as a poor clare in her convent near florence. Her presence, through letters which sobel has translated from italian and masterfully woven into the narrative, graces her fathers life now as it did then. Meanwhile their brother, vincenzio, the youngest child of galileo and marinas union, had been legitimized in a fiat by the grand duke of tuscany and.
Sister maria celeste 16 august 1600 2 april 1634, born virginia galilei, was a nun. Galileos daughter book of the week madras heritage. The we of suer maria celeste s letter speaks for herself andher sister, livia galileo s strange, silent second daughter, whoalso took the veil and vows at san matteo to become suor arcangela. Inspired by a long fascination with galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of his daughter maria celeste.
Galileos daughter was her fathers greatest source of strength during his. These are the first complete translations of the letters into english and for those who cannot read the. The book is so well done that it reads almost like a novel and at times brings one to. Sister maria celeste the daughter lived the majority of her life restricted to the grounds of a convent outside of florence. For the daughters letters, in fact, are a skein of veils.
It was nominated for the 2000 pulitzer prize for biography or autobiography. Dava sobel the son of a musician, galileo galilei 15641642 tried at first to enter a monastery before engaging the skills that made him the foremost scientist of his day. Yet the galileo of suor maria celestes letters recognized no such. Yes, galileo had a daughter, in fact two daughters and a son, the illegitimate offspring of a liaison with a venetian beauty. Despite the title and the premise that it is based off of suor maria celeste s letters this book isnt really about galileo s daughter and the letters are sparser than i expected. The we of suer maria celeste s letter speaks for herself and her sister, livia galileo s strange, silent second daughter, who also took the veil and vows at san matteo to become suor arcangela. Although the title of the book is galileos daughter and the focus is on suor maria celeste, it is galileos life that occupies centre stage. Inspired by a long fascination with galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of his daughter maria celeste, a cloistered nun, dava sobel has crafted a biography that dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishments of a mythic figure whose earlyseventeenthcentury clash with catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religionthe man albert einstein.
In the wake of her success with galileos daughter, dava sobel brought out an edition of maria celestes complete surviving letters, letters to father 2001. To ask other readers questions about galileos daughter, please sign up. Sobel bases her book on 124 surviving letters to the scientist from the nun, whom galileo described as a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and tenderly attached to me. Virginia was the eldest of three siblings, with a sister livia and a brother vincenzio. Virginia took the veil in 1616, choosing the name of sister maria celeste, and livia followed the. I learned a lot about galileo s unbelievable discoveries, his equally important and forwardthinking contributions to the scientific community in terms of process and rigor, his.
It details the relationship between renaissance scientist galileo and his daughter suor maria celeste, a nun. Her books include longitude, about english clockmaker john harrison, and galileos daughter, about galileos daughter maria celeste. Galileos daughter book contra costa county library. Maria celeste chose her words very cautiously and judiciously, especially when danger waxed. Galileos daughter is the story of both galileo and his wise and intelligent older daughter, maria celeste.
Galileos daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenthcentury clash with catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. Of all of galileos children, his daughter, maria celeste, mirrored his own brilliance, which is evident in the detailed letters that for the first time have been. Moving between galileos public life and maria celestes sequestered world, sobel illuminates the florence of the medicis and the papal. Moving between galileo s grand public life and maria celeste s sequestered world, sobel illuminates the florence of the medicis and the. This book is not only a biography of galileo, but that of his daughter, and attempts successfully to complete the picture of the scientist as a religious and familyoriented man.
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