More a story of the life of Galileo than his daughters, Galileo's Daughter, by Dava Sobel, tracks the pernicious road the scientist traversed to become one of history's most notable and controversial thinkers.
Starting out as a low-paid university professor, Galileo Galilei's life progressed dramatically to place him in the spotlight as a traitor to the church into whose hands he had delivered his two illegitimate daughters. Early on in his career, Galileo sent his two illegitimate daughters to the Convent of San Matteo, where his elder daughter took the name Suor Maria Celeste and the younger became Suor Arcangela.
Galileo's elder daughter serves as caretaker to her sister, who is of a delicate constitution. And although he never married their mother, Galileo provides a great deal of paternal support to the sisters, as well as his illegitimate son, his own siblings, and extended family.
Through the letters from Suor Maria Celeste, which Galileo fastidiously kept and Sobel includes in this story, we learn that there was a great bond between the two, and how she comforted and supported him emotionally as he faced the inquisitions of the Vatican for his work.
It is a shame that the letters Galileo wrote to Suor Maria Celeste were never found. It is unknown whether she kept them or destroyed them. Some rumors say they are hidden somewhere in the Vatican. Nevertheless, Sobel's book provides insight enough to show the familial strengths and emotional turmoil of a man who gave his all for what he believed in, who suffered greatly, and who relied on the fortitude of his elder daughter throughout.
