This sounds fascinating! It's always struck me that she was probably every as bit as talented as her brother, but her father was too stupid and/or blind to realize he had two prodigies and lacked the sense to nurture both. What a waste. Not all women are at their best doing "women's work." (Ever notice how a woman artist or writer such as Mary Cassat has 'unexplained, unproductive' periods in her career... and when you read her biography you find out she was raising half a dozen kids?) Sigh.

I love well-written historicals and I'll be watching for this book. (I hope you get a good translator, too!)