“Even now, nearly a century after her death, Marie Curie remains the only female scientist most people can name,” writes Dava Sobel at the opening of her shining portrait of the sole Nobel laureate decorated in two separate fields of science—Physics in 1903 with her husband Pierre and Chemistry by herself in 1911. And yet, Sobel makes clear, as brilliant and creative as she was in the laboratory, Marie Curie was equally passionate outside it. Grieving Pierre’s untimely death in 1906, she took his place as professor of physics at the Sorbonne; devotedly raised two brilliant daughters; drove a van she outfitted with x-ray equipment to the front lines of World War I; befriended Albert Einstein and other luminaries of twentieth-century physics; won support from two U.S. presidents; and inspired generations of young women the world over to pursue science as a way of life.

As Sobel did so memorably in her portrait of Galileo through the prism of his daughter, she approaches Marie Curie from a unique angle, narrating her remarkable life of discovery and fame alongside the women who became her legacy—from France’s Marguerite Perey, who discovered the element francium, and Norway’s Ellen Gleditsch, to Mme. Curie’s elder daughter, Irène, winner of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For decades the only woman in the room at international scientific gatherings that probed new theories about the interior of the atom, Marie Curie traveled far and wide, despite constant illness, to share the secrets of radioactivity, a term she coined. Her two triumphant tours of the United States won her admirers for her modesty even as she was mobbed at every stop; her daughters, in ève’s later recollection, “discovered all at once what the retiring woman with whom they had always lived meant to the world.”

With the consummate skill that made bestsellers of?Longitude?and?Galileo’s Daughter, and the appreciation for women in science at the heart of her most recent?The Glass Universe, Dava Sobel has crafted a radiant biography and a masterpiece of storytelling, illuminating the life and enduring influence of one of the most consequential figures of our time.

Praise for The Elements of Marie Curie:

Winner of The Planetary Society’s 2025 Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science
Longlisted for the American Library in Paris Book Award
Named a Best Book of the Year by Barnes and Noble (History)
Named a Best Science and Nature Book of the Year by the?Guardian

“Ms. Sobel takes the familiar story of Marie Curie and crosscuts it. The journey of the Polish-French physicist who helped unlock the secrets of radioactivity was never straightforward, but it was also never taken alone. Woven into the account of Curie’s life are the lives of other women . . . What sets Ms. Sobel’s biography apart isn’t the timeline or the events of her subject’s life; it’s those women of science whose lives intersected with Curie’s, a cast of brilliant researchers and thinkers that the author skillfully weaves into her narrative.”—Brandy Schillace, Wall Street Journal?

“A novel lens through which to view Curie’s story, and Sobel paints her tale with characteristic deftness and eloquence . . . Sobel’s great skill as a writer—as readers of her past works such as?Longitude?will know—is her ability to explain complex technical problems and the ways human ingenuity overcomes them.”—Jonathan Ford,?Financial Times

“A fresh and feminist study of the pioneering Nobel laureate reveals her impact on the women she mentored and set on the path to prominence . . . [An] unabashedly feminist account of the great woman’s life? . . . [Sobel’s] short and well-paced book succeeds in dispelling the dust that clings to some accounts of this most famous of lives and makes it fresh again.”—Laura Spinney,?The Guardian

“Sobel crafts a deep and intimate glimpse of the woman behind the science . . .?The Elements of Marie Curie?is much more than a biography. It is a tribute to a woman who redefined what was possible for women in science, inspiring generations to follow her. Sobel’s elegant prose and thoughtful use of personal and historical accounts bring Curie to life, offering a nuanced portrait of a woman whose contributions to science were matched by quiet strength, humility and commitment to humanity. This is an essential read, capturing both her genius and her legacy.”—Chen Ly,?New Scientist

“A fresh portrait of the icon and two-time Nobel laureate . . . Well-researched and compellingly written . . . The Elements of Marie Curie beautifully illuminates the science and the scientists that Curie devoted her life to developing . . . Sobel gives us a chance to share in the excitement and delight of the work that made Curie and her dozens of scientific offspring glow so brightly.”—Michelle Francl, Nature

“Sobel writes elegantly about science, unspooling Curie’s pursuits in the lab like a mystery.”—Kate Zernike, New York Times Book Review

“[Sobel] brings a new perspective, one that rhymes with contemporary understandings about how scientific discoveries are made . . . Introduces us to the legion of people, many of them women, who worked alongside Curie throughout her career, supporting, expanding and translating her work so that its significance and reputation was carried round the world.”—Kathryn Hughes,?The Times?(UK)

“A vivid narrative that uses Curie’s well-known story as scaffolding for tales of the brilliant young women who trained in her lab and became part of her scientific legacy . . . This superbly rendered portrait of Curie and her intellectual offspring could inspire many bright minds to follow in the scientist’s footsteps for generations to come.”—Vijaysree Venkatraman,?Science

“[Sobel] beautifully elaborates the life and work of the most famous female scientist of all time . . . Sobel weaves the scientific and the personal together seamlessly . . . A beautifully written and elegantly structured tribute.”—Pat Sheil, Sydney Morning Herald

“Paints a human portrait not of an isolated genius, but of a woman who existed in and built scientific community . . . Sobel analyzes her subject with care and thorough detailed historical and personal accounts . . . An essential read for anyone who values works that highlight women in the sciences.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Preeminent science writer Sobel brings forward a new array of female scientists in this vital portrait of Marie Curie and the women who joined her in her world-altering Paris laboratory . . . As Sobel vividly tells their tales of valor, diligence, and brilliance, she fuses elements human and scientific to create a dramatic group portrait encompassing passion, struggle, poignancy, and triumph.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Admiring biography, by the noted popular historian of science, of the extraordinarily accomplished Madame Curie . . . A lucid, literate biography, celebrating a scientific exemplar who, for all her fame, deserves to be better known.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Paints a human portrait not of an isolated genius, but of a woman who existed in and built scientific community . . . Sobel analyzes her subject with care and through detailed historical and personal accounts . . . An essential read for anyone who values works that highlight women in the sciences.”—Shelf Awareness

“Marie Curie is one of the greatest scientists of all time and a pioneer for women. In this book Dava Sobel has brought her and those she inspired to life, with her characteristic accessible and scholarly writing. A book for our times celebrating both science and women.”—Paul Nurse, author of What Is Life?

“Marie Sk?odowska Curie was unique, but her influence irradiated the futures of 45 women who worked in her laboratory. By restoring these pioneers to visibility, acclaimed historian Dava Sobel casts fresh light on the life and achievements of the first scientist to win two Nobel prizes.”—Dr. Patricia Fara, author of Science: A Four Thousand Year History

“Hard to put down! A wonderfully written biography of Marie Curie, that does not step away from the physics but also includes her life outside the lab, even including the black and white cat!”—Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell