A Pineapple in Winter:
The Adventures of Émilie and Voltaire

Émilie du Châtelet is determined to have her theory of the Conservation of Energy recognized in the Academie des Sciènces. But in King Louis XV’s France, a woman who speaks out—especially on something as absurd as science—risks shunning, banishment, or even death. She does not help her cause when she begins a passionate affair with Voltaire, the most wanted critic of the Crown.

Voltaire said he only prayed but once. “Lord, make my enemies ridiculous,” he asked. He got his wish. Émilie’s affair with Voltaire could therefore only be equal parts enthralling, hilarious, and dangerous. Voltaire’s plays and poems skewer the sex lives and incoherence of royalty, while Émilie’s mathematical work exposes the patriarchal ignorance of the scientific community. He suffers arrest rather than censorship; she threatens to metaphorically and literally burn down the Academie des Sciènces if she cannot gain admission. Their antics are absurd and their spirits indomitable—even in an oppressive state so determined to exile them from its borders and from each other.

Based on true events from the lives of these intellectual titans, A PINEAPPLE IN WINTER is a story about what it means to work toward truth in science and in love. Incisive and delightful, its tale is a fitting valentine to two of history’s most compelling figures and a wry lament that only one of their names is still recognized today.