Passionate Minds B 英文原版

David Bodanis lectured at the University of Oxford for many
years. Originally from Chicago, he now lives in London.

　　Emilie du Chatelet was one of the greatest thinkers of the
18th century, a woman whose work was of vital use to Einstein and
who, until now, has been largely ignored by history. Fiercely
intellectual and passionate, Emilie’s relationship with Voltaire
was as radical as her thinking; only after swordfights, wild
affairs and rigging the French national lottery did the two finally
find love together. In an isolated chateau they combined their
unique talents, producing theories more than a century ahead of
their time. Voltaire challenged the social norms and great
injustices of the era, as well as expanding on Newton’s Laws. When
they ran out of money, Emilie, with her razor-sharp mathematics,
would gamble in Versailles. Their progressive thinking won them
only public scorn and even imprisonment in the Bastille for
Voltaire. When their love finally ended, Emilie found happiness in
an independent life until, tragically, she became pregnant. Then in
her forties, it meant almost-certain death in childbirth. Voltaire
returned to comfort her in her last months, when she wrote some of
her most important work.