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The Dancer, The Scientist, and a Friendship Forged in Light
by Liz Heinecke
Part hidden history, part love letter to creative innovation, this is the true story of an unlikely friendship between a dancer, Loie Fuller, and a scientist, Marie Curie, brought together by an illuminating discovery.
At the turn of the century, Paris was a hotbed of creativity. Technology boomed, delivering to the world electric light, the automobile, and new ways to treat disease, while imagination blossomed, creating Art Nouveau, motion pictures, and modernist literature. A pivotal figure during this time, yet largely forgotten today, Loie Fuller was an American performance artist who became a living symbol of the Art Nouveau movement with her hypnotic dances and stunning theatrical effects. Credited today as the pioneer of modern dance, she was perennially broke, never took no for an answer, spent most of her life with a female partner, and never questioned her drive. She was a visionary, a renegade, and a loyal friend.
In the early 1900s, she heard about Marie Curie's discovery of a glowing blue element and dreamed of using it to dazzle audiences on stage. While Loie's dream wouldn't be realized, her connection with Marie and their shared fascination with radium endured. Radiant is the true story of Marie Curie and Loie Fuller, two revolutionary women drawn together at the dawn of a new era by a singular discovery, and the lifelong friendship that grew out of their shared passion for enlightenment.
"[E]xtensive bibliographic notes attest to the factual foundation supporting this irresistible, dramatic, many-faceted, and, yes, illuminating tale of two extraordinary geniuses and their friendship. Heinecke's fresh take on Curie is welcome, and her portrayal of the too-little-known Fuller is revelatory." - Booklist (starred review)
"[A] fascinating dual biography of scientist Marie Curie (1867–1934) and dancer Loïe Fuller (1862–1928)...With rich evocations of Belle Époque Paris and accessible introductions to the era's artistic and scientific breakthroughs, this inspirational portrait of two trailblazing women soars." - Publishers Weekly
"[A] unique, satisfying biography/creative nonfiction hybrid that celebrates the achievements of two women who revolutionized the artistic and scientific worlds. An illuminating book for fans of biography and popular science." - Kirkus Reviews
"Radiant is the story of an unlikely friendship between two boundary-breaking women, each determined to bring some light into a dark world. A remarkable tale of science and art, beauty and loss, the power of the mind and the frailty of the body. Luminous." - Emily Anthes, Award-winning author of The Great Indoors
"Written at the vibrant intersection of science and art, Radiant details the fascinating lives of Marie Curie and Loïe Fuller. Both of these extraordinary women pursued their research with creativity and persistence, imagining radical new possibilities in their respective fields of chemistry and dance. Liz Heinecke's delightful book stages the story of their lively friendship within the proscenium frame of Belle Époque Paris." - Ann Cooper Albright, author of Traces of Light: Absence and Presence in the Work of Loïe Fuller
"Radiant is the absorbing story of two women moving through one another's orbits on the edge of their own singular legacies. In this fascinating story, Heinecke illuminates the individual work of Fuller and Curie along with their shared connection, leaving the reader with a sense of the fighting spirit they both held for their work, the people they loved, and life itself." - Amelia Gray, author of Isadora
This information about Radiant was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Liz Heinecke has an undergraduate degree in art from Luther College, a master's degree in bacteriology from UW Madison and worked as an academic molecular biology researcher before starting her wildly successful online educational platform KitchenPantryScientist.com. She has written seven books teaching kids (and their parents) how to perform simple science experiments at home, including two which pair science experiments with history lessons about scientists. She is a regular fixture on local TV morning shows including CBS and ABC, and frequently makes appearances for library programs, and at STEM, STEAM and tech festivals. Between experiments and writing, Liz paints, sings, and plays the banjo. She lives in Minneapolis, MN.
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