Romantic heroine and computer pioneer: the remarkable story of Lord Byron's daughter. Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron was born in 1815 just after the Battle of Waterloo, and died aged 36, soon after the Great Exhibition of 1851. She was connected with some of the most influential and colourful characters of the age: Charles Dickens, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin and Charles Babbage. It was her work with Babbage that led to her being credited with the invention of computer programming and to her name being adopted for the programming language that controls the US military machine. However, what makes her story so fascinating is the way she personified the seismic historical changes taking place. This was the era when fissures began to open up in culture: romance split away from reason, instinct from intellect, art from science. Ada came to embody these new polarities.

'Woolley has a great story to tell and does it with racy vigour' - Maggie Gee, Daily Telegraph

'A splendid and enthralling portrait' - Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times

'An amazing story' - Ruth Padel, The Independent

'An entertaining and thoughtful biography' - The Guardian