Title: The Only Woman in the Room
Author: Marie Benedict
Date/year published: 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: e-pub borrowed from local library through Libby app, read on my Kindle
Why did I choose to read it: Based on the life of Hedy Lamarr and written by a respected Historical Fiction author, it sounded interesting to me.
Synopsis: Married to an Austrian arms dealer during the rise of the Nazi party, Lamarr was frequently the only woman in the room, used as a prop to showoff her husband’s rich and beautiful life. But Lamarr had a few secrets. Most importantly – she was a scientist with an idea that could help fight the Nazis. The difficult part was getting anyone to listen to her. Benedict’s books often shine a light on the women in science that history often overlooks; The Only Woman in the Room is based on Hedy Lamarr’s life.
Thoughts:
Hedy Lamarr was always a person of interest for me. I’m always drawn to learning about women who did something rebellious for the good of others and got away with it. In this case, Lamarr knew how difficult it would be to be taken seriously and therefore had to enlist a friend’s help and use an alias so the patent office wouldn’t know it was her – technically her married name. But who can blame her? And she got it done. She devised a signal hopping system that could jam radio signals. Although, her system was never used, she is credited with many contributions to technological advancement.
Honestly, Lamarr wasn’t rebellious so much as headstrong and determined to do what she thought was right, would protect herself, or benefit herself or her friends and family. Occasionally she comes across as spoiled or naive, but she does grow and change over the course of the book – I mean, she’s barely 18 when the book opens. Of course she’s going to be spoiled and naive.
The main focus was on :Lamarr’s appearance and acting career, which was true in her life by all accounts I’ve read. (spoiler) She was treated as an object on many occasions – a beauty to be shown off, abused, used, or traded. This constant admiration often depressed her, wanting to be seen as more than just a pretty face. Though she wanted to be seen as a person, Lamarr also couldn’t resist the call of the stage. A recurrent theme, Benedict balances these two conflicting desires well.
The book flowed easily. It reads more like a fully fictional account than a based-on retelling, which is a credit to the author’s skill, as some biographic novels can get bogged down with facts and dates. Also, for an historical fiction it was nice to know it was biographical too. History, for me, is much more absorb-able when it’s not a list of dates or facts but has some life breathed into it.
Would I re-read or recommend it?
Re-read? Probably not. Although, I will look up other Benedict books. This one was well written and I enjoyed it, so I would guess I would enjoy her other biographically based books as well.
Recommend? Yes! Especially for women’s studies and history buffs.
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