Her Hidden Genius

February 3, 1947

Paris, France

The same day, Mering explains the lab’s egalitarian culture, shows Rosalind her workstation, and offers to teach her X-ray crystallography. She joins colleagues for lunch at Chez Solange, where a lively debate on politics and science makes her feel at ease. Rosalind is notorious within the scientific community for once having publicly questioned a prominent scientist’s conclusions about his research into coal, but here in this lab her willingness to speak her mind seems to be an asset. Later, the group, including fellow researchers, Alain and Gabriel, brews coffee with lab equipment—a daily ritual that amuses Rosalind. The easy camaraderie allows her to relax and feel part of a community.

March 14, 1947

Paris, France

Rosalind has rapidly mastered X-ray crystallography. She begins to wonder if she could apply this technology to substances other than crystals. Mering calls her his quickest student and asks her to interpret a new X-ray film. After studying the film, she sketches a three-dimensional atomic structure and proposes the next experiment. Impressed, he praises her pattern recognition and tells her that she has exceeded his expectations. Unlike her superiors in the American labs she’s worked in, he insists on the informality of calling each other by their first names. Rosalind reflects on rumors of Mering’s Russian-Jewish background. She also recalls hearing that Mering is known for his good looks and recognizes her growing attraction to him.

March 22, 1947

Paris, France

Rosalind dines with her mentor, Adrienne Weill. Weill was a prominent French scientist before the war but was forced to flee Paris because she was Jewish. Rosalind met her when the two were both living in Cambridge, and Rosalind helped her find her current position at the “labo” as she has come to call it. (“Labo” is French for “laboratory,” and Rosalind is eager to embrace her new home’s vernacular and customs.) Adrienne asks about Rosalind’s family, and Rosalind tells her that her mother has scheduled an upcoming visit: Like Adrienne, Rosalind hails from a prominent Jewish family, and her mother wants to make sure that Rosalind is living according to standards they would approve of while on her own in France.

Adrienne observes that Rosalind has begun dressing in the French style since her arrival in Paris and complements her easy, but polished new style. The two chat easily until Adrienne suggests that Rosalind might marry and remain in France. When Rosalind asserts that it is impossible to be both a scientist and a wife, Adrienne bristles. Adrienne is both a scientist and a wife, but Rosalind points out that Adrienne, unlike many women, has the full support of her husband. Adrienne deftly maneuvers the conversation past their disagreement, and all is forgiven. When Adrienne notices Rosalind’s reluctance to discuss Mering, she correctly guesses her feelings and warns her to be cautious, noting that such attractions can lead to complications.

May 2, 1949

Paris, France

Rosalind attends her brother David’s wedding in London, where she feels like an outsider among her relatives. Her aunts criticize her for taking a salaried post in Paris instead of doing philanthropic work as is the custom in her family. Her cousin, Ursula, intervenes and the two begin to chat about the latest fashions in Paris. Ursula admires Rosalind’s new clothing and newfound sense of style. She teases Rosalind about the possibility of Rosalind catching the eye of one of the French scientists. Rosalind thinks of Mering and reddens, but dismisses Ursula’s suggestion and steers the conversation elsewhere.

November 8, 1947

Paris, France

Rosalind works alone on a Saturday. She cannot focus entirely on her work, however, because she is distracted by thoughts about Mering. A new researcher, Michel, finds her in the labo, and rebukes her for working in the lab after hours. Scientists are prohibited from entering the lab on weekends, although most routinely ignore this rule. Michel also rebukes her for ignoring safety protocol about radiation: He directs her to the weekly dosimeter board, where she discovers her film badge shows dangerously high radiation exposure. Fearing she will be forced to leave the lab, she pockets the film and asks Michel to keep her actions a secret.

November 17, 1947

Paris, France

Rosalind returns home elated after Mering praised her carbon research and proposed submitting it to Acta Crystallographica. On the landing, she meets her new neighbors, Vittorio and Denise Luzzati, fellow scientists and X-ray crystallographers. Vittorio is genial and speaks excellent French. His wife, Denise, is a native speaker. The three chat amiably, and Rosalind learns that like she and Adrienne, Vittorio is Jewish. He fled Italy when Mussolini came to power and met Denise while studying in South America. Vittorio adds that he has heard glowing praise about Rosalind from Adrienne but also from Mering.

March 9, 1948

Paris, France

Mering invites Rosalind to a scientific conference in Lyons. At lunch, her lab colleagues fall quiet before congratulating her. The conversation turns to Nobel gossip, and Rosalind overhears Gabriel and Alain swapping rumors about Mering. She tries to catch the details, but the conversation moves on.

May 10, 1948

Lyons, France

Rosalind travels to Lyons with Mering and the rest of their team. During the first lecture, Rosalind raises her hand to make a comment. Although she is afraid that this audience will be as hostile to a female scientist as groups she has encountered in the past, her point is well received. She connects her own research to that of the speaker’s, and there is a hum of approval from those gathered. After the session, a visiting scientist compliments her contribution and tells Mering he has chosen his “protégé this year” well. The phrasing unnerves Rosalind, who wonders if Mering annually selects a favorite. Monsieur Mathieu also praises her insight, reinforcing her scientific standing.

May 11, 1948

Lyons, France

The next evening, Mering—now asking her to call him Jacques—persuades Rosalind to skip the formal dinner for a more intimate one. Over wine, they trade family histories and discuss her struggle to reconcile ambition with her family’s expectations. He tells her a scientist does not have to forgo relationships and marriage. As she begins to question her belief that science and romance cannot coexist, he kisses her, and their professional connection becomes a romantic one.

January 14, 1949

Paris, France

Jacques presents Rosalind with the new issue of Acta Crystallographica containing her first paper. She feels a sense of meaningful accomplishment at seeing her name as the study’s sole author, and her colleagues all congratulate her. Later, she celebrates alone with Jacques. He urges her to make their relationship public, but she resists. She has reservations about both what her family and her colleagues will think. He invites her up to his flat, explaining that “tonight” he will be alone. His phrasing gives her pause, and when pressed he admits that he is married. The revelation ends their romance: Rosalind is unwilling to have an affair with a married man.

June 24, 1949

Paris, France

Rosalind and Jacques maintain a formal distance at work although Jacques has made it clear that he remains open to resuming their romantic relationship. Rosalind suspects that Vittorio is aware of both her involvement with Jacques, and the affair’s end, but she does her best to remain focused on their research. Two American visitors, scientist David Sayre and his wife, Anne, tour the lab. Jacques introduces them to Rosalind, praising her research at length before suggesting the four of them have dinner. Recognizing his attempt to see her outside of work, Rosalind declines, citing her parents’ upcoming arrival.

June 24, 1949

Paris, France

That evening, Rosalind dines with her parents, her brother Colin, and the Luzzatis. Vittorio speaks highly of Rosalind, outlining her recent accomplishments to her parents. Her father does seem proud of her scientific work, but he does not offer the kind of overt praise that would make her happy. Later, he admonishes Rosalind for not choosing to remain in London, helping its Jewish community recover, post-war. He explains that because their people came so close to complete annihilation at the hands of the Nazi party, they are more deserving of her time and talents than is the scientific community. Rosalind remains resolute and explains that she cannot abandon her scientific career or her colleagues here in Paris.

On July 1, 1949

Calvi, Corsica

Rosalind leads a holiday hike in Corsica with lab colleagues and her brother, Colin. Jacques joins the group, unsettling her. At the summit, he apologizes for their misunderstanding, but she maintains her distance. Later, on the beach, she notices Jacques and a newer researcher, Rachel, have slipped away. Alain and Gabriel reveal that Jacques and Rachel are a couple, and Rosalind realizes their relationship began just after her own affair ended. She feels utterly foolish and now wonders if she had ever been special to Jacques at all.