Ada: The Enchantress of Numbers is a biography of and selection of Ada’s lettes by Betty Alexandra Toole (Mill Valley, CA: Strawberry Press, 1998). The work is, as the author writes in the Acknowledgements, “the result of more than twenty years of addiction to Ada.” (page ix) This addiction shows itself in, for example, Toole’s e-mail, “adatoole at well dot com”. Toole seems concerned to protect Ada from claims that she was a drug addict and addicted gambler, though she doesn’t so much argue the case as unleash it. The paperback version (and hardback) is published by Strawberry Press: “Strawberry Press publishes reference books for the succulent world …” and much is made of the cover designer, Leah Schwartz (whose book, Leah Schwartz, the life of a woman who managed to keep painting was also published by Strawberry Press.) I’m not sure I would keep painting covers like the one for Ada.
Despite the strange presence of the author/editor and cover designer, the book nicely gathers Ada’s letters and her notes on Babbages Analytical Engine with biographical context. The correspondence with Babbage is startling as it is clear how firm Ada was with Babbage about her publication of the translation and notes (she refused to let Babbage append a rant about funding and almost fell out with him over this). The annotated selections from her notes on the Analytical Engine also make clear how they were an original reflection on the Engine. I’m curious now about what they thought “analysis” was then.
What comes through about her personality is that she was a brilliant woman, constantly sick, struggling with her mother (who pushes her into mathematics), and socially connected to many of the leading scientists and mathematicians (like Babbage) of the day. Her last months as documented by Toole are heartbreaking.