• A Mind of Her Own

  • By: Paula McLain
  • Narrated by: Hillary Huber
  • Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (26,348 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
A Mind of Her Own  By  cover art

A Mind of Her Own

By: Paula McLain
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $7.95

Buy for $7.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From Paula McLain, the best-selling author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin, comes a breathtakingly intimate story of the brilliant, willful Marie Curie—a young woman in Paris on the verge of her greatest discovery yet: herself.

Marie Sklodowska, 25, is studying science at the Sorbonne—one of the only universities in the world that has begun to admit women. A thousand miles from her native Poland, with no money and the odds stacked against any woman daring to pursue a career in such a rigorous field, Marie throws herself into her studies. She’s certain that to succeed in a man’s world, she will have to go it alone.

Her meticulous plans get thrown slightly off-course when Marie attracts the attention of an accomplished physicist, himself on the precipice of greatness. Pierre Curie, famous for his work on symmetry, believes he has found in Marie an equal who shares his devotion to scientific discovery. He offers to help with her work, and soon begins to court her. But to Marie, men have always been an obstacle, love a distraction from her goals. She hasn’t come this far to let either stand in the way of her dreams—dreams Pierre insists they can share.

In A Mind of Her Own, McLain taps into the luminous mind and complex heart of a singular woman caught between order and chaos, science and love in the period just before the world would learn her name. 

©2019 Paula McLain (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

Our favorite moments from A Mind of Her Own

A married woman was property
-0.00
I stood out, even as I tried to disappear
-0.00
Who cared if anyone liked me, or even knew me?
-0.00
It was at just such a moment Pierre Curie arrived
-0.00
  • A Mind of Her Own
  • A married woman was property
  • A Mind of Her Own
  • I stood out, even as I tried to disappear
  • A Mind of Her Own
  • Who cared if anyone liked me, or even knew me?
  • A Mind of Her Own
  • It was at just such a moment Pierre Curie arrived

Publisher's summary

From Paula McLain, the best-selling author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin, comes a breathtakingly intimate story of the brilliant, willful Marie Curie—a young woman in Paris on the verge of her greatest discovery yet: herself.

Marie Sklodowska, 25, is studying science at the Sorbonne—one of the only universities in the world that has begun to admit women. A thousand miles from her native Poland, with no money and the odds stacked against any woman daring to pursue a career in such a rigorous field, Marie throws herself into her studies. She’s certain that to succeed in a man’s world, she will have to go it alone.

Her meticulous plans get thrown slightly off-course when Marie attracts the attention of an accomplished physicist, himself on the precipice of greatness. Pierre Curie, famous for his work on symmetry, believes he has found in Marie an equal who shares his devotion to scientific discovery. He offers to help with her work, and soon begins to court her. But to Marie, men have always been an obstacle, love a distraction from her goals. She hasn’t come this far to let either stand in the way of her dreams—dreams Pierre insists they can share.

In A Mind of Her Own, McLain taps into the luminous mind and complex heart of a singular woman caught between order and chaos, science and love in the period just before the world would learn her name. 

©2019 Paula McLain (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.
.
Paula McLain

About the Author

Paula McLain was born in Fresno, California in 1965. After being abandoned by both parents, she and her two sisters became wards of the California Court System, moving in and out of various foster homes for the next 14 years. When she aged out of the system, she supported herself by working as a nurse’s aid in a convalescent hospital, a pizza delivery girl, an auto-plant worker, a cocktail waitress—before discovering she could (and very much wanted to) write. She's the author of four novels, including the New York Times best-sellers Circling the Sun and The Paris Wife; a memoir, Like Family: Growing Up in Other People's Houses; and two collections of poetry. Her most recent book is the New York Times best-selling novel Love and Ruin, a fictional account of Martha Gellhorn’s passionate, stormy marriage to Ernest Hemingway in the early 1940s, as told from Gellhorn’s point of view. She lives with her family in Cleveland.

Hillary Huber

About the Performer

Award-winning narrator Hillary Huber has recorded hundreds of titles spanning many genres. Hillary has a B.A. in English Literature and is a voracious reader and listener of audiobooks. Being raised in conservative Connecticut and hippy Hawaii has given her a unique perspective, straddling two very different worlds. She now splits her time between California and New York. Most of that time is spent in a small 4x4 padded cell. Um...booth.

What listeners say about A Mind of Her Own

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10,937
  • 4 Stars
    7,071
  • 3 Stars
    5,487
  • 2 Stars
    1,957
  • 1 Stars
    896
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12,807
  • 4 Stars
    6,083
  • 3 Stars
    3,153
  • 2 Stars
    916
  • 1 Stars
    444
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,680
  • 4 Stars
    5,795
  • 3 Stars
    4,824
  • 2 Stars
    1,979
  • 1 Stars
    1,097

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

short but effective

really refreshing to turn Maries Life into a romance. so happy the author wrote un first person, it really makes the difference. I would have liked the rest of her story but I appreciate the effectiveness of the short length

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not What I Expected

This original focused more on the foundation of Marie's relationship with Pierre, which is not what I was expecting at all. It was sweet, and made a good afternoon listen. I personally didn't care for the performance, it got robotic at times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable short read.

I enjoyed hearing a little about Marie Curie's start in the science world. The first-person presentation was engaging.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

muy bonito

me gustó porque fue como escuchar una novela pero con sentido, para personas que les gusta filosofar y simpatizan con un personaje que viaja con las mismas metas

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting

I enjoyed everything about this book. I knew very little about her family and her early life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

GOOD

Loved it, But it was too short I'll remember this. To Dream on, and to think of. This needed to be longer. "Loved it"

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inredibly powerful woman

A story of a highly intelligent woman in the male dominant world of science. interesting read/listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very interesting and well done.

I thought it a good, concise look at the personal side of a brilliant pioneer in radioactive physics.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just wish it was longer

Wonderful story of love and science. I will now look for longer books on the subject.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sapiosexual Love Story

This short audible shows how passion in your work can lead to passion towards your counterpart. A quick insight to the life Madame Marie Curie : her struggle, her life and her beliefs . The narrator did an awesome job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful