The 18th-century astronomer William Herschel was justly famous for his pioneering work with telescopes and discovery of several celestial bodies, including the planet Uranus. His sister Caroline, known as Lina, who worked as his assistant for decades, was an accomplished astronomer in her own right, too. In her sixth novel, The Stargazer's Sister, Carrie Brown (The Last First Day) brings Lina's story to light, creating a richly imagined account of astronomy, sacrifice and love.
Small, slight and deeply scarred from a childhood bout with smallpox, Lina is the least favored child of her domineering, dissatisfied mother. When William rescues her, as a young woman, from her life of drudgery in their native Hanover, Lina feels as though the world has opened up to her. Settling in Bath, England, she gladly gives herself to the task of running William's household as he throws himself into his astronomy work with passion and abandon. Although Lina finds it difficult to keep up with William's energy and intellect, she gradually adjusts to her new life, managing housework by day and assisting her brother at his telescopes by night. As she transcribes his notes and answers his correspondence, Lina gains a level of scientific knowledge she had never dreamed possible, and she longs to make discoveries of her own.
Brown tells her sweeping story in clear, lucid prose, taking readers along on Lina's journey from her cramped, dimly lit life in Hanover to her expansive, glowing life in England with William. Recounting Lina's hopes and fears, Brown explores the deep ambivalence that accompanies Lina's love for her brother: her deep sense of gratitude for his rescue and care, coupled with exhaustion at the physical and mental demands he makes of her. When William announces his intention to marry Mary Pitt, a rich widow, Lina is devastated. But her years at the telescope have taught her both patience and fortitude, and she manages to carve out a place for herself both in William's new life and in the scientific community.
Blending fact and fiction, and drawing on extensive journals and historical records left behind by both William and Lina, Brown creates a spellbinding account of two lives intertwined and bolstered by awe. As Lina stands alone at her telescope, gazing at the stars "scattered like fistfuls of shining grain" across the sky, she feels "the joy of being amazed" by the universe. Readers may feel the same sense of wonder at Brown's sparkling narrative, about a woman finding her place in the world. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams
Shelf Talker: This is a sparkling, lyrical novel about Caroline Herschel, an 18th-century astronomer who worked in tandem with her brother William.