Hi team,

Let’s read about the past! Two different eras, and radically different topics, so this is the flimsiest connection I’ve done in a while and I hope you enjoy it.

Firstly, Clara Schumann! One of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, maybe the love of Brahms’ life, with a quite horrifying upbringing:

Schumann (née Wieck) was born to be a famous pianist, namely because her father decided at a very young age that that’s what his daughter was going to become. He had her learning piano when she was a toddler, and even before she was 10, Clara was recognized as one of the most promising musicians of the mid-19th century. When she was 11, she met Robert Schumann, who was 9 years older than her, who dropped everything to move into her house and teach her piano and one day marry her. Nice. Nice nice nice. Extremely normal and good thing from the past.

https://theawl.com/i-read-a-book-about-brahms-and-all-i-got-was-this-obsession-with-clara-schumann-92d650531361#.wogcodi9m

And next – radium! Radium and the unfortunate women who worked with it before they figured out it was extremely bad for you. This is a story about science but also a story about a legal fight at a time when women’s lives very explicitly counted for less:

The young women had no reason to worry about radium then. The factories assured them it was safe. They were even taught to paint tiny numbers on the dials by licking their paintbrushes to a fine point. Plus, radium was supposed to be good for you. You could buy radium water, radium face cream, radium toothpaste, and even Radium Brand Creamery Butter. These products didn’t actually all contain the expensive and precious element, but the evocation of radium gave them a healthful glow.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/radium-girls-kate-moore/515685/

Happy Friday!

Alex.