Now you can pick up Dava Sobel’s Galileo’s Daughter in paperback. An
elegant account of Galileo’s life and times, this book springs from Sobel’s
discovery of an Italian translation of the letters from his daughter Virginia.
Born out of wedlock, she spent her adult life in a poverty-stricken convent. She
wrote to her father, and he wrote back. But the ghost haunting the book is the
loss of the great scientist’s letters. Her father kept hers, the convent
disposed of his. Published by Fourth Estate, £7.99, ISBN 1857027124.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New ÒÁÈ˾þÃ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New ÒÁÈ˾þà articles
1
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
2
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
3
Remote-controlled cockroach swarm can now breathe underwater
4
If you aren't terrified by this heatwave, you should be
5
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
6
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
7
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
8
The best sci-fi novel in 2026 so far – plus 6 other great reads
9
How menopause radically changes the brain – and what happens after
10
Fossil fruits show flowering plants flourished in time of dinosaurs



