In addition to being a brilliant scientist, Rosalind has many friends, a close family bond, and is an avid mountaineer. Did these facets of her life surprise you?

In addition to being a brilliant scientist, Rosalind has many friends, a close family bond, and is an avid mountaineer. Did these facets of her life surprise you? Why or why not?

I wasn’t surprised by her loyalty to friends and family but I did find her hiking an mountain climbing surprising.

Being the time period I was not surprised as to her loyalty to friends or the family bond - I believe parents were more protective of their children, specially women, in that timeframe. Her mountain climbing did come as a surprise but when you think about it, it was a good thing to do - probably helped her to think more and at the same time, think of other things which made her such a good scientist. She seemed to me to be a well rounded person and knew what she wanted and went for it.

I wasn't surprised by her bond with her family but I thought the book showed some stiltedness with men and romantic relationships. The mountain climbing was surprising because of the physical aspect of it, but the isolation of the sport seemed appropriate to her character. She was a person that wanted to strive to do more and challenge herself so it fit in with her character. Her friends tended to be other strong women or men that accepted strong women.

Her choice of activity seems to reinforce her inner strength. It was something she could do on her own without relying on others. Although she recognized her family requests of her, she was foremost a scientist. That would always come first.

I was surprised by the mountaineering. And fascinated.

It did not surprise me that Rosalind was a mountain climber. Climbing, like her research, was often a singular activity to meet a challenge. Both required focus, determination, and intensity. The tight family bond shows her dedication. She did not participate in superficial social activities. I don't agree that she had many friends, she has a few close friends that she would meet with even when she was on a deadline.

I was a bit surprised, sometimes when the people around you don't understand what your work is all about and why it can be so consuming, and they can drift away. I was happy she had loyal friends, travelled and had time to go climbing, a passion that probably helped with stress and may have cleared her mind.

I honestly didn’t know anything about Rosalind Franklin before this novel. I feel like I learned quite a bit from this story. Being a mountain trekker was surprising to me. Maybe this is a sexist comment, but I didn’t know women were mountain climbers until recent decades.

It was refreshing to learn that she enjoyed mountain trekking. Being in a lab so much of the time the outdoors must have been a nice change.

No I was not surprised she had strong family bonds and friends.

I wasn't surprised by the strong family bonds. And not really surprised by the friends either as most of them had some connection to scientific research. The mountain climbing was a bit of a surprise, but when you see her encouraging others to make it to the top, maybe it really isn't that surprising. It is just who she was.