Cover Reveal: Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life by Laurie Wallmark, ill. Katy Wu
A show of hands. How many of you first heard of Hedy Lamarr by watching copious amounts of Blazing Saddles (where the villain Hedley Lamarr is constantly called Hedy Lamarr by accident)? No? Just me? In between that and confusing her with Dorothy Lamour I was a pretty confused kid when it came to all things Hedy. It would have been nice if I’d known a little bit about her. Like the fact that she was a glamorous movie actress on the one hand, and the inventor of the radio guidance system found in Bluetooth systems and legacy versions of Wi-Fi on the other. There’s a great Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast episode about Ms. Lamarr (Hedy Lamarr: How did a Hollywood starlet invent cellular technology?) but I’m fond of the upcoming adult fiction book of her that’s coming out with Sourcebooks called The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. This is how they sent me the galley:
And this is what was inside:
But wait, you say. Shouldn’t there be a picture book biography of her as well? With all the emphasis on STEM and girls these days, who better to feature than a woman who was more than just a pretty face. Her story is pretty darn unique and would be pitch perfect for a book for children.
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So right you are. Today then, I present to you the upcoming Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, due on bookstore and library shelves everywhere February 5, 2019:
If the author’s name is familiar you may remember her from such great bios as Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code and Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine. Apparently she has a thing for highlighting smart women.
Many thanks to the folks at Sterling for the reveal.
Filed under: Cover Reveal
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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The Only Woman in the Room is apparently historical fiction, not a biography.
*shuffles to correct post quickly*
There’s also a wonderful documentary about Hedy Lamarr on Netflix, Bombshell. (Not for kids!)
Ooh la la! I love Laurie Wallmark’s other books. And I think Katy Wu also illustrated Grace Hopper: Queen of Code. I can’t wait to read this new title.
Thanks, Betsy, for telling people who might be interested in learning more about women in STEM about my upcoming biography of Hedy Lamarr.
I love Laurie’s other books, and I can’t wait to read this new one.
This book looks promising. The cover is great. I love that divided image of her face. In addition to being about a female pioneer in a STEM field, Lamarr’s life tells a story about immigrants and refugees. She was Jewish, and left Europe before the doors were closed. She later brought her mother here to safety.