Summary

Marie's plans to avoid love are ruined when she meets Pierre Curie. The French physicist has already established himself as a respected scientist, following an "anti-natural" path that puts him at odds with most women -- but Marie is not most women. Her dedication to science wins him over, and he pursues her with poetic flair, even going so far as to attempt to learn Polish. They are married on July 26, 1895.

Their first days together are spent bicycling through the countryside, a habit that is to follow them throughout their live together. They set up a small house in Paris that is sparsely furnished, save for their books and papers, so Marie needs to spend hardly any time keeping it maintained. Pierre teaches at the School of Physics for five hundred francs a month, their...