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THE WITCH OF AGNESI by Eric D.  Martin

THE WITCH OF AGNESI

A Novel Based on the Life of Maria Agnesi

by Eric D. Martin

Pub Date: Oct. 26th, 2022
ISBN: 9781947431478
Publisher: Mentoris Project

A historical novel dramatizes the life of a famous 18th-century mathematician.

While growing up in Milan, Maria Gaetana Agnesi shows signs of prodigious intellectual talent at a remarkably early age—by the time she is 5, she is fluent in three languages and demonstrates an extraordinary aptitude for mathematics. Maria’s brilliance becomes a matter of intense public interest, especially since her father, Pietro, pushes her to become a renowned symbol of female intellectual achievement. But at the height of her fame—she even entertains Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI—she becomes physically depleted and finally severely ill, worn out from a relentless schedule of study and public appearances. In addition, she suffers from a dearth of purpose—friendless and unmarried, she finds that her intellectual accomplishments do not help her understand her feelings of sadness. Martin meticulously documents not only Maria’s genius as a mathematician, but also her struggle to find meaning in her life beneath her ceaseless labors. In 1748, she finally publishes a mathematical treatise, Analytical Institutions for the Use of Italian Youth, that is so impressive it earns her a professorship in mathematics and physics at the University of Bologna; she becomes only the second woman ever to be awarded such a position. The author focuses on the first half of Maria’s life—her years as a child prodigy and her maturation into a celebrated mathematician—and devotes comparatively little attention to her later interest in theological speculations and charitable work. But he insightfully renders the tension between intellectual success and moral purpose that plagues Maria. Furthermore, he casts a clarifying light on the challenges even a woman of Maria’s virtuosic abilities and wealth faces in the 18th century. This is an engrossing portrayal of a major mathematician and the prohibitions of the time over which she triumphs.

An impressively well-researched tale of an important but unjustly neglected intellectual figure.