I’ve been meaning to read this for awhile, hoping to strengthen my background on the Enlightenment. The ridiculously long subtitle (The Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment, Featuring the Scientist Emilie du Châtelet, the Poet Voltaire, Sword Fights, Book Burnings, Assorted Kings, Seditious Verse, and the Birth of the Modern World) promises a great deal, but does it deliver? Yes and no.

This book’s forte is the behind-the-scenes picture it provides of two great Enlightenment thinkers and I would recommend it for that alone. However, despite revealing a great deal about private life in eighteenth-century France, particularly the limited opportunities for women, I could have used more context regarding the intellectual achievements and historical significance of these two larger-than-life personalities. That said, there is a good list of references and follow-up at the back.

The is an excellent glimpse into the life of a little known, but remarkable French woman. Emilie du Chatelet had a mind that not even the master of intellect, Voltaire, could hold a candle to her scientific and mathematical prowess.

The style is unique, as it reads more like a novel than an historical recount of 18th c. France. It is superbly researched and threaded together through the many extant letters of Voltaire. His early life is given rich historical context and the author does well to humanize him during his long affair with Emilie. We get to know Voltaire as a man, rather than a symbol of intellectual superiority.

On a whole I thought Bodanis really personalized these two fascinating individuals as well as their friends. He captured the spirit of Paris and the royal court of Louis that you can't help but feel connected to a place in time in history other than the present. If you desire to read about a woman who has a strenth of character that is truly extraordinary for the period than I highly recommend this book.

Excellent.

An enjoyable read which gives an interesting history lesson on 18th century France and the birth if the Enlightenment. Voltaire and Emelie obviously led amazingly rich and influential lives which makes for fascinating reading. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see a bit more in depth description of the scientific advancements they made - there was a lot of talk of complicated Newtonian formulae but little explanation of what it all meant. But it has certainly fired up my recently rekindled interest in European history and left me keen to learn more.

This biography of the 18th century French aristocrat Émilie du Châtelet who managed to defy the conventions of her time and acquire an education in, and make important contributions to, multiple scientific fields glides through the culture and society of an intellectually important era of Western European history. The affair Émilie had with the author Voltaire provides the eponymous passion and the book is both a biography of her and a biography of him, at least up until the death of his lover in 1749 (he would live another 29 years during which period he would compose his most famous work, Candide). Primary sources are used extensively to capture their daily activities including hunting, putting on plays, and conducting expensive science experiments at Émilie’s château in Cirey. Bodanis has consulted their love letters as well as the letters and memoirs of their friends, rivals, lovers, and servants and the result is a very rich account of lives lived almost three centuries ago. It is notable that Émilie was able to become well known for her expertise in the scientific interests of the day in France and England and this was work which was extremely important to her, as becomes apparent when she races to complete a translation and commentary on the work of Isaac Newton just before her untimely death. Bodanis goes fairly light on the science as well as the social customs of the French upper class (as well as other classes too) and this does let the focus of the book fall on the personalities involved. Still, I would have appreciated a bit more detail (there is some in the endnotes in the back which are very much worth reading along with the main text), especially about the science, as I felt like I was left without a thorough understanding of just why this person, who once wrote that “we all secretly like the idea of being talked about after our death” is in fact still worth talking about. Viewed as a biography, however, this is a well researched story of a dynamic, intellectually curious Enlightenment figure and the customs and personalities she lived among.

Amazed. This book was powerful on so many levels. I always enjoy reading stories of under-appreciated and ignored historical figures. People who matter in times or places that I want to understand. People that changed how we see the world.

The story is a dramatic romance at the beginning of The Enlightenment. Emilie du Chatelet was a brilliant and sexy woman who was a contemporary and long-time lover of Voltaire. Along with Voltaire, Emilie maneuvered palace intrigue and high society long enough to find a practical way to be mistress to an amazing thinker as she worked to understand Newton and explain the universe. The book is extremely well written and hard to put down.

I needed to read this particular book at this time. There are echos of some of the military chaos and societal malaise that accompany new modes of thinking today. A new way to see equal rights and the role of science in our modern life.

I love this book. It's exciting, engaging prose, it's a riveting story, and it's a real kick in the pants to read historical facts documenting how Emilie Du Chatelet was so much smarter/savvier/more clever than Voltaire. While we're at it, forgetVoltaire! It tturns out his one good quote, "I may not agree with a thing you say but I will defend your right to say it" wasn't even his. Yet another disillusionment caused by the fallacy that is high school history class.

But yes, read this book. Emilie is a heroine and deserves to be acknowledged as one of the greatest (dareisaypassionate?) minds of her time.

Highly engaging and informative combination of history and biography. It was great reading about both Emelie and Voltaire and their lives and works. I could have used more focus on the science, but the glimpses into the 18th century life and culture of France were vivid and fascinating.

Highly readable and fully enjoyable.

Really interesting and very well written. Gave me more insight in the life of Voltaire. Had never heard of Emilie du Châtelet but she is quite a personality as well. Finally the historic setting, it is just great.

Love that voltaire and Emilie were able.to find each other. Hate that she hasn't gotten the credit she deserves!

This book arrived at my office for preview and I picked it up. I wasn't expecting much, but instead thoroughly enjoyed reading about the history of pre-revolutionary France and a women who was incredibly modern for her time. She elaborated on Newton's theories and Voltaire had a hell of a time trying to keep up.

Voltaire was also pretty amazing, not only was he a renegage poet and playwright but he was also a savvy business men who bought and sold in order to fund his writing habit.

I also really liked Galileo's Daughter, which was similar thematically.