Ada Lovelace-Computer Wizard of the 19th Century

by Lucy Lethbridge

Daughter of the famous romantic poet Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace was a child prodigy. Brilliant at maths, she read numbers like most people read words. Lady Byron wanted Ada to be as unlike her father as possible. Ada grew up surrounded by an army of tutors who taught her every subject every waking moment, except for poetry. In 1843 Ada came to the attention of Charles Babbage, a scientist and inventor who had just built a miraculous machine called the ‘Difference Engine’. Ada and Mr Babbage started working together – a perfect partnership which led to the most important invention of the modern world: the computer!

Short Books is re-releasing some of its finest writing as a newly designed series of six children’s biographies called The Great Victorians. These are entertaining and engaging stories of some of history’s most fascinating characters. They tell history in a novelistic, engaging way, a halfway house between storybooks and traditional history. There is abundant humour and drama too. With beautifully designed covers these books will catch the eyes of parents as well as children. Also published in a highly collectable set.

Genres: Biography, Science, Nonfiction, History, Historical, Childrens

Paperback

First published March 3, 2003

About the author

Lucy Lethbridge has written numerous books, as well as writing articles for the Observer, the Sunday Telegraph, the Independent on Sunday, the Times Literary Supplement, Art News, and Art+Auction. She lives in London.

Reviews

[Anika Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted on The Oaken Bookcase, June 28, 2012.

Ada Lovelace is widely acclaimed in modern popular culture as being one of the first computer programmers because of her work on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine in 1943. Her modern-day following love her – not only was she a brilliant mathematician and rather nerdy (by today’s terminology), but also, a girl. Ada Lovelace day is held each year to ”raise the profile of women in science, technology, engineering and maths”.

Ada Lovelace: Computer Wizard of Victorian England tells the story of her life in a very interesting and easily understandable way, aimed at primary-aged children. Ada herself was rather ill for much of her life and probably suffered even more from the medical treatments of the day (electro-shock therapy, anyone?). She didn’t sound like a very easy person to work with, except when she was obsessed with a mathematical problem. All this comes across quite strongly in this book.

I think the most important messages that Ada Lovelace’s story can teach us these days is that not only is it important for the contributions of women to be recognised in the sciences, but also that anyone, man or woman, if they’re passionate about something and society looks down upon them for that, they should go ahead and keep trying (as long as no-one is hurt in the process, of course!). Ada didn’t care what the nobility thought of her eccentric ways, she just kept doing what she loved.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ada was born to Lady Annabella and Lord Byron. She had brilliant imagination and learned science and Mathematics at an young age. Although she married, had children and met the expectations of her mother and the society, she never gave up on her dream to work on mathematics. She worked with Charles Babbage, a leading scientist at the time, to develop Analytical Engine. Good introduction to #WomenSTEM #historyofscience and #Computers #Girlscode

[Sarah Wiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief biography did a great job of describing Lovelace's life and times but I was disappointed it didn't describe more of her contribution to science.

[Gem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this when I was 9 not even knowing she was real, I was not a smart kid...at all. but I loved it, but it scared me when Ada also showed up in Rachel caines books