MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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El matemático del Rey (2002)
Juan Carlos Arce
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Contributed by Octavio Agustin

It is a novel about a period in the lives of Juan Lezuza and his friend Luis Obelar during the first years of the rule of Phillip IV of Spain. Juan Lezuza is appointed teacher of the King, but it is indicted of heresy for his authorship of a book explaining the mathematical foundations of the heliocentric theory.

The story is very similar to the Galileo affair, but I think it is nicely written and also exposes the political manipulation of (scientific) truth. Lezuza's wife, Inesa, is also an interesting character that invites to some reflection.

Only available in Spanish, so far as I know. Published by Editorial Planeta in 2002.

More information about this work can be found at www.amazon.com.
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Works Similar to El matemático del Rey
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Galileo by Bertolt Brecht
  2. Kepler: A Novel by John Banville
  3. Pythagoras the Mathemagician by Karim El Koussa
  4. Ahmes, the Moonchild by Tefcros Michaelides
  5. The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper
  6. Perelman’s Refusal [Les Refus de Grigori Perelman] by Philippe Zaouati
  7. Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan
  8. When We Cease to Understand the World [Un Verdor Terrible] by Benjamin Labatut
  9. The Four Colors of Summer by Tefcros Michaelides
  10. Symmetry and the Expatriate by Tefcros Michaelides
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Categories:
GenreHistorical Fiction,
Motif
TopicMathematical Physics,
MediumNovels,

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Exciting News: The 1,600th entry was recently added to this database of mathematical fiction! Also, for those of you interested in non-fictional math books let me (shamelessly) plug the recent release of the second edition of my soliton theory textbook.

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)