James Essinger

Ada Lovelace was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the dangerous romantic poet whose name became a byword for scandal. Over the past decades, she herself has become a surprising underground star for digital pioneers all over the world, starting with Alan Turing. Embraced by programmers and women in technology, Ada even has her own day that is commemorated every year on Google's search engine. Ada's Algorithm, tells the exceptional story of Ada Lovelace's life and achievement, and traces how her contemporaries failed to recognise the extraordinary break-through she had made. If they had, the computer age could have started almost two centuries ago. In her private life, Ada suffered many battles, not least with the common conception at the time that science was 'beyond the strength of a woman's physical power of application,' but also her over-bearing mother, her father's infamy, nervousness, and addiction to gambling. The fact that her fame today continues to rise despite such hurdles is a tribute to her singular determination and inspiring personality. Based on 10 years of research and filled with a host of fascinating characters - including Charles Dickens and Walter Scott - Lovelace's own writing, as well as illustrations, her short but poignant story is told here in unprecedented, spell-binding detail.