This is a surprising and fascinating story…. a MUST read!
I never heard of this author before the name Marie Benedict lunged out at me from a beautiful book cover on a random shelf at the book store, and pulled me back some decades to when I lived in a French convent, where Mother Superior was the tall, commanding, and utterly endearing, Sister Marie Benedict.
This was a different Marie Benedict of course, and no, I’m not a nun, and I never was Catholic, but I was lucky to have the experience of living in a convent among so many women devoted to their calling.
So, it was with a great deal of nostalgia that I reached for this book, in addition to being drawn to the esthetic of the cover, but…OMG…who knew….?
Hedy Lamarr, was a huge star in her day, but who knew that without a formal degree, she invented a form of frequency-based technology that made WIFI, GPS, and Bluetooth possible?
Married to one of Austria’s wealthiest men, Fritz Mandl, a munitions manufacturer, Hedy was a silent, and inconspicuous witness to conversations involving not only her husband and Austrian government officials, but the likes of Hitler and Mussolini, all who regarded her as little more than a beautiful, though mindless hostess.
After escaping Austria, and finding her way to Hollywood celebrity, it was a musical score that inspired her invention of frequency-hopping spread spectrum, which she developed with composer, George Antheil. This invention would markedly increase the accuracy of torpedoes, and her hope was that it would be used to fight the forces that ravaged Europe.
Unfortunately, in a time when she was considered one of the most astounding natural beauties in the world, this and many of Hedy’s inventions never hit their mark until years later when her patent expired, and bits and pieces of her brilliant accomplishments were used by inventors through the following decades.
This is just a snippet of a well-written story that I hope all of you will read! Marie Benedict has written three other books that I have already put on my reading list!
They are:
The Other Einstein (Albert Einstein’s wife)
Carnegie’s Maid (A fictitious woman who inspired Carnegie’s philanthropy)
Lady Clementine (Mrs. Winston Churchill)
Marie Benedict’s agent is Laura Dail, and this book was published by Sourcebooks Landmark.
This book sounds very intriguing and I cannot wait to start it. Which would be this afternoon!
Enjoy! It is full of surprises!
You opened a door for us, Linda. Thanks for the insightful review! (Glad you escaped that convent.)
You’re so welcome!
I feel fortunate that you reviewed and recommended The Only Woman In The Room because I could not put the book down. Who knew the circumstances defining Hedy Lamarr’s life would be so fascinating.
Like other books based on true stories, the facts can be embellished or omitted to create a more compelling read. I simply enjoyed learning about Lamarr’s life. Wanting to know more, I looked up articles, interviews etc on her when I finished reading the book to learn more about this extraordinary woman.