A Russian Childhood

In the year 1889 Sofya Vasilievna Kovalevskaya, Profes sor of Mathematics at the University of Stockholm, pub lished her recollections of growing up in mid-nineteenth century Russia. Professor Kovalevskaya was already an international celebrity, and partly for the wrong reasons: less as the distinguished mathematician she actually was than as a "mathematical lady"-a bizarre but fascinating phenomenon. Her book was an immediate success. She had written it in Russian, but its first publication was a translation into Swedish, the language of her adopted homeland, where it appeared thinly disguised as a novel under the title From Russian Ltfe: the Rajevski Sisters (Sonja Kovalevsky. Ur ryska lifvet. Systrarna Rajevski. Heggstrom, 1889). In the following year the book came out in Russia in two "My gifted Mathematical Assistant Mr. Hammond exclaimed ... 'Why, this is the first handsome mathematical lady I have ever seen!'" Letter to S. V. Kovalevskaya from].]. Sylvester, Professor of Mathe matics, New College, Oxford, Dec. 25, 1886.