Her Hidden Genius

December 8, 1953

London, England

Rosalind is happy to have left King’s. Randall excluded her from the celebrations of the Nature DNA papers, and she realized that in spite of his anger towards Wilkins about his subterfuge, he was never truly on Rosalind’s side. She enjoys working in her new lab at Birkbeck College, which feels more supportive than King’s. Her director, John Desmond Bernal, is a brilliant man and a renowned scientist. He is also a notorious ladies’ man but, having learned her lesson with Jacques, she sets clear boundaries. Bernal respects them, and the two work well together. The only drawback to working in Bernal’s lab is that he is a known communist sympathizer. Rosalind wonders if his politics might someday hinder their work, but she is too preoccupied by her own research to worry too much about it. She is now focused on the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and the structure of RNA.

December 14, 1954

London, England

Rosalind meets Aaron Klug, another scientist who is moving into the office next to hers. They connect over their shared Jewish background and chat about their families and work histories. Rosalind tells Aaron about a recent trip she took to the United States during which she toured several research facilities.