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Pantheon

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer

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Description

A debut graphic biography that transforms one of the most compelling scientific collaborations into a hilarious series of adventures. Meet Victorian London’s most dynamic duo: Charles Babbage, the unrealized inventor of the computer, and his accomplice, Ada, Countess of Lovelace, the peculiar protoprogrammer and daughter of Lord Byron. When Lovelace translated a description of Babbage’s plans for an enormous mechanical calculating machine in 1842, she added annotations three times longer than the original work. Her footnotes contained the first appearance of the general computing theory, a hundred years before an actual computer was built. Sadly, Lovelace died of cancer a decade after publishing the paper, and Babbage never built any of his machines. But do not despair! The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage presents a rollicking alternate reality in which Lovelace and Babbage do build the Difference Engine and then use it to build runaway economic models, battle the scourge of spelling errors, explore the wilder realms of mathematics, and, of course, fight crime—for the sake of both London and science. Complete with extensive footnotes that rival those penned by Lovelace herself, historical curiosities, and never-before-seen diagrams of Babbage’s mechanical, steam- powered computer, The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage is wonderfully whimsical, utterly unusual, and, above all, entirely irresistible. With black-and-white illustrations throughout. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pantheon


Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 21, 2015


Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307908275


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 78


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.86 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.44 x 1.1 x 10.12 inches


Part of series ‏ : ‎ Pantheon Graphic Library


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Half history, half speculative fiction, and all enjoyable
I loved it, and I don't say that lightly. I knew of Lovelace and Babbage and the "first computer", but I did not know their story, but now I do (at least as presented by this book and the wonderful footnotes that clarify what is known and what is speculative). It was presented in such an enjoyable manner that it made learning this part of history fun. And then the book departs from the history and says, "what if?" And the fun continues. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2023 by Wesley Anderson
    • ADA IN WONDERLAND
Do not even think, just BUY THIS BOOK! This is one of the most enjoyable graphic novels, one of the best "popular" books on the history of science, and one of the great Victorian narratives EVER. PERIOD. The author navigates a complex and contentious set of topics with aplomb and unfailingly upbeat good humor -- except when describing lingering and painful deaths by cancer and other unpleasant eventualities. Babbage and Lovelace, two of history's real one-of-a-kinds (one the sole legitimate offspring of the notorious and unfettered poetic genius, Lord Byron; the other the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge -- think Newton and Hawking) are here morphed into a pair of ur-Steampunk mathematical geniuses and erstwhile crime fighters, as if their real-life lives and friendship at [the imaginary] ground zero of the digital age were not excitement enough. In working her way through their perilous escapades, Padua (who is way smarter than she lets on in the footnotes) provides a brilliant exegesis of some of the 19th century's most difficult mathematical and philosophical terrain, all without breaking a sweat. A brilliant performance, and hopefully one to be repeated. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2016 by Glenn Harcourt
    • A Necessary Volume for all fans of Steampunk, Lovelace, Maths, Alternate Universes, Invention, Adventure, Comics, Engineering...
The inimitable, indomitable Ms. Padua has given us all a great gift in the form of this most excellent treatise on computing and crimefighting! I became a great admirer of Ms. Padua upon the instant of discovering her astounding comic on the web, and doubted that this 3d version of that Accomplishment could be in any way superior; but the evidence in my hands this fine day has proven me wrong! I must beg the Authoress' pardon for my lack of faith, and share with all Learned men and women the news of this Necessary volume... (Ahem.) There's more comic, more story, more art, and Even. More. Footnotes. in the 3d version of 2d goggles. Yes! More Footnotes! If you love the webcomic, then you really do need to get your hands on the paper book. If you haven't read the webcomic - well, get thee to 2dgoggles! A quick perusal of the art and imagination there will convince you to add this to your RWL (real world library) at once! Join the Lovelace Association today! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2015 by Arvella B. Oliver
    • Fun history
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer is a graphic novel by Sydney Padua. My only complaint about this was I couldn't adjust the font size on my Kindle, so the footnotes were very difficult to read. The rest of this is so much fun. I knew nothing about Charles Babbage, but I had heard hints about Ada Lovelace's involvement in creating the first computer. That she was Lord Byron's daughter makes her all the more fascinating because he is an unusual character. She took her passion in a very different direction but with no less fervor. While this graphic novel takes liberties with the history, Sydney Padua is very upfront about what is true and what might be embellishment via footnotes throughout. A very fun way to explore history! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2021 by Virtualrealist
    • Much More Than Whimsy
Delightful! And much more to it than I expected. Padua begins with the historical version of Babbage and Lovelace, and then goes beyond that to have them engage in a series of disconnected Victorian adventures, often interacting with other famous personages of the times. But what really makes the book work are the footnotes, which act as a kind of running commentary on the graphic novel elements, and the endnotes to each chapter, which provide a little more meat and some miscellaneous facts that don't fit elsewhere. No matter how fantastic the story, Padua keeps connecting her dialogue and actions to things that the historical Lovelace and Babbage and their compatriots said or did, in a way that makes it clear that the actual people were fully as remarkable as the swashbuckling cartoon characters they have inspired. As a bonus, the end of the book includes some curated excerpts from letters and articles that Padua used for her research. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2016 by SarahLawrence Scott
    • A fascinating look at what might have been....
This is a humorous look at the relationship of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, and the beginnings of computing. While Babbage was never able to complete his Analytical Engine, this book suggests what might have been, while given quite a bit of insight into how it would have worked. If you are interesting in the history of computing, the genre known as "Steampunk," or just want an entertaining read, this is a fascinating book. I've had the privilege to actually see the completed version of Babbage's Difference Engine, which was built from his plans. It is a beautiful piece, and is fascinating to watch. This book gave me a greater insight in these pioneers of computing, which I first discovered in a book called "The Difference Engine" by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, which was one, if not the, first Steampunk novels. A ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2017 by Just Jennifer
    • I giggled my way through most of this read.
I truly did not know what to expect when I first picked up this book. I have always been interested in Ada Lovelace so I knew I would enjoy it but I didn't expect how much sass and whit there was going to be. For that, I loved this story. You can tell the author did her research while creating this book. The footnotes alone make the read worth it. Each of the characters is built up out of the research that was done and feel completely real, as if I could walk up to them and have a conversation that would make sense for their personalities. I giggled my way through most of this read, I won't like. The computer, math and logic jokes were perfect. This is probably one of my favorite reads of the year. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2017 by April Sarah

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