I don’t read historical fiction very often and I picked up Marie Benedict’s 2018 novel, Carnegie’s Maid, on a whim but, after finishing, I began to wonder what else I was missing and immediately added The Other Einstein to my reading list. Einstein is a heartbreaking and infuriating look into what life might have been like for the famed physician’s first wife, and while a considerable amount of speculation went into crafting this perspective (facts about Mileva Marić aren’t exactly plentiful), I walked away feeling utterly outraged on her behalf anyway. If nothing else, Ms. Benedict offers a poignant view into the historical struggles faced by women who dared to deviate from cultural norms and that, in itself, is reason enough to pick it up.
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Erin Simpson 