Enchantress of Numbers: A Novel of Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace is finally getting her due, not only as an important mathematician but as one of the earliest proponents of computer programming. Although some dispute her accomplishments, more people than ever before recognize her on her own merit, free of the shadow of being Lord Byron’s daughter.

Enchantress of Numbers fictionalizes the tormented life of the Countess of Lovelace, going far beyond the historical record to bring to life a woman of impressive mental and mathematical agility. Under Chiaverini’s sympathetic pen, we meet an enthusiastic and uncertain young woman, burdened by her father’s sinful legacy and her mother’s oppressive expectations, with only the lure of science and math lighting her way.

There is no doubt a fair bit of artistic license taken by Chiaverini here — oppressive matrons straight out of Dickens, Victorian mores a la Pride and Prejudice — but the portrayal of Ada herself rings true.

Enchantress of Numbers shouldn’t be your first choice if you want the history of the woman and her accomplishments, but if you want to get to know her as a three-dimensional being, not a historical figure made of dates, times, and publications, this is a marvelous place to start.