A new book has been published related to the discovery of the structure of DNA, the molecule carrying the genetic information of living organisms. This time it is a fictional account written by M. Benedict: ‘Her Hidden Genius: A novel’ by M. Benedict, 2022. The attached essay is included to provide additional historical and scientific background to the narrative.

As it is well known, there had been many biographical accounts of the achievements, the life, character and persona of Dr. Rosalind Franklin, who provided critical structural parameters on which the model proposed by Watson and Crick (Nature, 1953) was based. The experimental results that she obtained using X-ray diffraction of DNA fibers were made available to the Cambridge researchers without her knowledge.

Ms. Benedict’s book reviews all these events and the future scientific work of Dr. Rosalind Franklin on Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) in a narrative context. [PDF]