I will say that the writing style of Jennifer Chiaverini was wonderful and I especially liked her descriptive sentences throughout. Overall, I was not in love with this story, but to be fair that may have had to do more with a lack of interest in the characters and less to do with the author of this novel.

I also liked the mention of phrenology as a ‘new science’ as, being a psychology major, I am very familiar with that old and outdated school of thought. Some of the story was interesting, specifically that I really did not know that much about Lord Byron prior to this novel and found him to certainly be an interesting historical figure. It was certainly interesting getting to know about Ada’s childhood into adolescence and adulthood, unfortunately, I did not find myself that intrigued. Ada, as those close to her, call her, never met her father due to “The Separation”, which is how the book begins.

This book follows the main character of Augusta “Ada” Byron, daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron and his wife Lady Byron. TO me, the best books are the ones where I can almost lose myself in the story and this was not the case here. While the main character, August ‘Ada’ Byron was, at times, relatable and interesting in how her life could have been being the daughter of Lord Byron, I was not able to get emotionally invested in any of the characters. “Enchantress by Numbers”, however, did not give me that connection or curiosity to the real-life equivalents of these characters. Little does she realize how her exciting new friendship with Charles Babbage-the brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly inventor of an extraordinary machine, the Difference Engine-will define her destiny.Įnchantress of Numbers unveils the passions, dreams, and insatiable thirst for knowledge of a largely unheralded pioneer in computing-a young woman who stepped out of her father’s shadow to achieve her own laurels and champion the new technology that would shape the future.I have always said that historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read as I feel more of a connection to the characters due to them having, almost always, once existed. When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Any troubling spark of imagination-or worse yet, passion or poetry-is promptly extinguished.

Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada’s mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. But her mathematician mother, estranged from Ada's infamous and destructively passionate father, is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage.

The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth.

Enchantress of numbers