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It had an asphalt floor and a glass roof that leaked.
A century would pass before the term “glass ceiling�� gained currency as a metaphor for invisible barriers to women’s advancement, but Marie Curie toiled under an actual glass ceiling from 1899 to 1902, the years she spent in that “poor, shabby hangar,�� spinning pitchblende into radium.

The Elements of Marie Curie has been a particularly special read to me by providing not only a biography of Marie's life, but also a glimpse into all the  macro-aggressions faced by the first few women in Science academia. They had to overcome a lot of challenges such as not being allowed memberships in academic societies or to present their own work - around the same time as the suffragette movements. While society and academia have moved forward since then, it was really galling to see the imposter syndrome women suffer and micro-aggressions such as withholding credit and bad jokes on personal lives that are still prevalent today. One can only hope that society continues to move forward with awareness on these issues.

“The combination of the ability to think in mathematical formulas and to manipulate skillfully the whimsical instruments of a physical laboratory�� a combination necessary to attain eminence in physics�� is apparently one seldom met with in women,�� she (Harriet Brooks) said. She seemed to have forgotten that she herself had once embodied these abilities.

The book is strengthened by excerpts from letters and recollections about Marie adding a personal touch to her characterization. It was wonderful to see the several strong women depicted here and her support system.

“Then the door opened and I saw a pale, timid little woman in a black cotton dress, with the saddest face I had ever looked upon.�� “I had been prepared to meet a woman of the world, enriched by her own efforts and established in one of the white palaces of the ChampsÉlysées or some other beautiful boulevard of Paris.�� Instead, “I found a simple woman, working in an inadequate laboratory and living in a simple apartment on the meager pay of a French professor.�� This discovery unhinged Mrs. Meloney.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Grove Atlantic for providing me with a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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[One star for the premise and the whole book; One star for the characterization; One star for the story; One star for the world-building; Half a star for the writing - Four and a half stars on the whole, rounded up to Five stars.]