The Only Woman in the Room

By: Marie Benedict

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

She possessed a stunning beauty. She also possessed a stunning mind. Could the world handle both?

Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.

But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: She was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis...if anyone would listen to her.

A powerful novel based on the incredible true story of the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication, The Only Woman in the Room is a masterpiece.

©2019 Marie Benedict (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

A Brilliant Woman Ahead of Her Time

The Only Woman in the Room

Hedy Lamarr was both stunningly beautiful and stunningly smart. But could the world handle both?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
May 17, 1933, the beautiful Hedwig Kiesler is on stage performing the role of her life in Vienna, when she captures the attention of the richest and most powerful man in Austria. Arms manufacturer, Friedrich Mandl lavishes dozens and dozens of roses on the young actress after every performance. Hedwig soon finds herself married to Friedrich, living in a castle and attending lavish dinner parties where the discussions are on arms manufacturing, weaponry, politics, and German aggression. She understood these conversations more than anyone would guess.

Desperate to escape her controlling husband and the rise of the Nazi party, Hedy disguises herself and flees from Austria to London in 1937. She lands in Hollywood, and becomes the beautiful screen star Hedy Lamarr. But her guilt for surviving, when so many in her birth country perished, ultimately move her to action. Because of her unique intelligence, insight and knowledge of weaponry, Hedy is able to invent an improved guidance system to enhance the accuracy of Navy torpedos. But will anyone listen to a woman about such things?


REVIEW
This fabulously written book explores Hedy’s early life, her disturbing marriage, her glamorous Hollywood stardom and her brilliant inventions to help the Allies defeat the Nazi’s. But THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM is about so much more. My favorite part of this book is in fact, it’s concept. Author MARIE BENEDICT is passionate about shining a light on the hidden roles of women in our history and rewriting them back into the narrative. She has done an exceptional job at that here, as well as in her previous two novels: The Other Einstein (2016) and Carnegie’s Maid (2018).

I was drawn like a moth to a flame to this necessary and insightful book. The book reveals Hedy to be an amazingly strong and brilliant woman. She was a woman who knew how and when to stand up for herself. If this book isn’t on your reading list, it should be. She exudes perseverance and fortitude, and is a role model for us all. I listened to the Audible version of this book and Suzanne Toren’s narration brought Hedy’s voice to life.


Excerpt from Authors Note:
“Whether Hedy’s work on spread spectrum technology was purposefully disregarded or unconsciously forgotten, it appears that embedded in her oversight were misconceptions about her abilities; about all women really. Faulty assumptions about women’s capabilities....has caused many to think more narrowly about the manner in which the past has been shaped. But unless we begin to view historical women through a broader, more inclusive lens, and rewrite them back into the narrative, we will continue to view the past more restrictively than it likely was. And we risk carrying those perspectives over into the present.”

Publisher Audible Studios
Published January 8, 2019
Narrated Suzanne Toren

Third time is a charm

I read The Other Einstein last year, I enjoyed the writing of the story, it was just the characters characters annoyed me and therefore I had a hard time getting into the novel. Carnegie’s Maid was a complete disappointment and I actually returned it to Audible halfway through. So why listen to The Only Woman in the Room you ask? Because I loved the premise and was interesting in learning that Hedy Lamarr was more than just a pretty face. Fortunatey, the third time was a charm. I was spellbound listening to her time in Austria and the actions with her abusive husband that eventually led to her fleeing to the United States. I did find the section about Larmarr in Hollywood to be a bit tedious and repetative. I wanted to move on to the lesser know aspects of Hedy and her ambitions to be an inventor. Benedict does touch on that but not until late in the book. I really enjoyed listening to that portion and wished the author had spent more time on it. I also listened to the Afterward and found it very informative as it discussed that Hedwig Kiesler’s contributions to science have been used in the development of the cell phone; proving that while she may have been the only woman in the room she was more than a pretty face.

Interesting Woman

I didn’t know anything about Hedy Lamar when I started reading this book. She was a very talented woman with a fascinating life. Too bad she was ignored solely because of her gender and beauty by the very people who should have done anything to shorten the war.

Inspiring

Marrying a powerful man to keep her family safe from the events to come, Hedy has no idea what she's getting herself into. Until it's too late. She finds herself wanting to escape the horrible situation she finds herself in, but can't seem to think of a way. Until she overhears something that makes her realize just how bad things are to come. She finally makes a plan and flees to America. She winds up becoming an actress. She also becomes a scientist. I enjoyed this book right from the very start. I didn't really do any research on it or read more into the book than I really had to. So it came as a shock to me when my mom informed me that this is based on an actual actress. I've since done the research and am really impressed with her. It makes me sad that her being an actress is more prominent than the fact that she was an intelligent woman who invented things. But I digress. My mother and I read this for a book club meeting at our local library that wound up being canceled because of the pandemic. I hope they make a new meeting after it's all over so we can discuss it! This book was narrated by Suzanne Toren. She did a really amazing job. It's like she actually stepped into Hedy's life. She became Hedy. It'll be hard to listen to any other work of hers without thinking of Hedy. It will be worth it though. If for anything else but to see if she becomes all of the characters she narrates. She made a tragically beautiful story even more so. In many ways. This was an incredibly beautiful and inspirational novel. I am very glad I got the chance to read it in all honesty. I'm glad that I have it in my library so that I can go back and read it again any time I want. I'm thankful to be living in a time where I can speak my mind openly and do anything I want to. Sexism is still a thing, but it's harder to deny somebody something just because of their gender. At least not openly. This is a book that I strongly recommend.

Would love to read a biography after this!

What a fascinating woman! Loved all the detail of her pre-Hollywood life but would’ve loved to have a bit more time spent on her torpedo designing later life!

Well written. Well narrated

This is a very good tale of a brave woman that was recognized by her beauty but denied her real intellectual capabilities. Which became a loss to the WWII world.

I didn't realize who Hedy was when I started

what an amazing life. why isn't this a movie. what a women. she was a genius and they didn't believe it because she is a woman. Even now

couldn't stop listening

loved this! I didn't want to turn it off. it's a very interesting story.

What a great story!

The author does a great job revealing the life of the amazing Hedy. I also enjoyed the narrator. It starts off slow but by then it gets quite edgy. Please do listen to this interesting story and know that women are not just a pretty face.

Incredible!

So incredible! The women, her story, and the writing and performance of this book. Would definitely recommend.