The history of science and technology includes many hidden or partially obscured women. One such woman is Rosalind Franklin, a pioneering chemist, X‑ray crystallographer, and the subject of this picture book biography. “This story doesn’t really have a happy ending,” author Tanya Lee Stone warns, because sometimes people never earn the recognition they deserve. Stone then goes on to describe Franklin’s life, which was both tragic and inspiring.
Rosalind Franklin (1920 – 1958) was born in London to a Jewish family with high expectations for their children. Yet no amount of parental encouragement could counter the prejudices women faced when trying to enter careers in science. The author and illustrator paint Franklin as multitalented and enthusiastic about a wide range of endeavors. As a young girl, Franklin plays hockey, climbs mountains, and studies languages. She is energetic and beautiful, and sure of the path ahead.
In 1946, a few years after graduating from the University of Cambridge, Franklin accepts a research position in Paris, through which she becomes highly skilled at X‑ray crystallography — a process that enables the visualization of matter at the atomic and molecular level. While France seems more accepting of female scientists, Franklin returns to England to study DNA at King’s College. At this point, Franklin begins to confront the obstacle of sexism. Joyous and exciting images of Franklin working in her lab, riding a bicycle, and even wearing a dress by Christian Dior all change. Threatened by her brilliance, her male colleagues are determined to exclude her from the search to unlock the genetic code within DNA.
In straightforward language, Stone explains how male “misunderstanding,” whether willful or obtuse, effectively marginalized Franklin from her team. Standing back to back with lead DNA scientist Maurice Wilkins, who has his arms folded in anger, Franklin is absorbed in a document marked with an atomic symbol. Their portrait is framed by three pieces of lab glassware, and the cloud emerging from them has the double meaning of scientific experimentation and professional fuming. Later, Francis Crick and James Watson hear Franklin’s presentation on X‑ray diffraction of DNA. Eventually, they conspire to appropriate Franklin’s data, ultimately using it to produce a model of DNA’s double helix. Crick and Watson are depicted standing together, their shadows looming next to them in triumph. Franklin exits the scene, following her own shadow off the page.
This highly recommended book emphasizes a brutal reality about adults who, rather than working in cooperation and toward progress, succumb to petty motives. In his memoir, Watson wrote about Franklin with such obvious arrogance that scholars were motivated to unearth the truth about her life. Now young readers can access Franklin’s courageous story in this distinguished picture book.
Emily Schneider writes about literature, feminism, and culture for Tablet, The Forward, The Horn Book, and other publications, and writes about children’s books on her blog. She has a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures.