novel/biography of the feminist icon Ada Lovelace and the (mad) scientist/inventor
extraordinaire, Charles Babbage. The two worked as a team in the mid-1800s to design and
build a computer. They drew up plans, built models, and began work on what they called the
“Difference Engine.” They never finished it, though, and they soon began work on a new
machine, the “Analytical Engine,” which could solve complex math problems, reason logically,
and even draw computer-generated art. Unfortunately, both Babbage and Lovelace died and the
computer never was built. The first computers were built 100 years later.
The characters in Lovelace and Babbage are funny, with Ada being portrayed as a brilliant,
semi-serious can-doer, while Babbage is portrayed as equally brilliant, yet goofy and a little out
of touch. Minion, Babbage’s sidekick, is loyal, but helpless and the Duke of Wellington is bossy
and (a little bit) mean.
The majority of Lovelace and Babbage is a funny, fictional comic about Lovelace and Babbage’s
alternative universe, adventures, with footnotes accompanying and explaining the ideas. The end
had detailed explanations of how the engine worked, and I recommend reading this part.
I thought Lovelace and Babbage was a masterpiece, not only of writing, but of art. The beautiful
pen-and- ink drawings do more than complement the writing. They give the story a whole new
dimension that other non-fiction books lack. Overall, I would recommend it for all middle
schoolers but older kids may understand it better. Adults may like it, too.
- Chris, 7th grade, CSCL
