Footeprint
Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women's Rights
Lindsay H. Metcalf’s enthralling biographical novel-in-verse highlights the scientist’s contributions and challenges as an inventor, wife, and mother in the 1800s.
Footeprint begins with baby Eunice “kicking the glass ceiling / to breathe the air above.” Eunice’s curiosity led her to a school where girls studied science. Economic difficulties on her family farm led her to Elisha, the lawyer-inventor she married. They worked side by side in their home laboratory, where Eunice invented the first heat regulator for stoves, which Elisha patented because the law did not allow women to register inventions.
Eunice continued inventing after their two daughters, Mary and Gus, were born. She was involved in the early suffragette movement. In 1856, Eunice discovered that excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warmed Earth. A scientific assembly accepted her results but required a man to present them. Eunice continued to invent and receive patents, then stepped back to enjoy her grandchildren and deal with family tragedies. Her role in climate science was forgotten until 2010.
The book’s approach is innovative, befitting its story of a trailblazing inventor. Historical details are highlighted, and critical thinking is encouraged, in its short poetic lines, which are packed with meaning as they ably convey Eunice’s vitality and the turbulence of her century: “Butterflies dance / in late-morning sun. / Earth’s heartbeat sounds / on the cricket’s wing. / Eunice packs her trunk, / bids the farm goodbye / & takes leave eastward / to usher grandchild No. 2 / into the changing world.” Photographs of her family homestead, significant people in her life, and of her published climate findings complement its revelations. The family tree and bibliographies are also edifying, and a research “scoop” regarding a possible image of Eunice adds flair.
An engaging biographical novel-in-verse, Footeprint is about the life of climate science pioneer Eunice Newton Foote.
Reviewed by
Lynne Jensen Lampe
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