Fission

First they tried to deny her.
Then they tried to destroy her.
But she survived to discover nuclear fission
and spark the race for the atomic bomb.

Imagine if you would, a story of greed and betrayal, intrigue and danger, war and destruction, the slaughter of the innocents on a biblical scale and the collapse of empire. And imagine at the centre of it all one woman, brilliant but shy, victimized but resolute, and ultimately vindicated. What a story that would make! Well, you don’t have to imagine it, because that is the Lise Meitner story. And I didn’t have to invent any of it – it’s all true.

* * *

Thank you for your interest. If you enjoy the story of Lise Meitner, please tell your friends about this remarkable woman.

The incredible, but absolutely true, story of Lise Meitner and the race for the Atomic Bomb.

Before There be Monsters!, before the Alex and Jackie Adventures, there was fission – the amazing, but true, story of Lise Meitner.

I first heard of Lise Meitner when I read the David Bodanis book, e=mc2. Lise’s was such an incredible story that I had to find out more about her, so I read biographies about Lise and her more famous contemporaries, and the more I read the more I was shocked that I’d never head of this woman – maybe the most important woman of the 20th century.

“Someone has to tell this story,” I complained to Leigh.

“Then why don’t you tell it?” she replied.

The result of that conversation was my screenplay, fission, which, although it won critical acclaim (including finalist at the 2008 London Independent Film Festival), remains unproduced. I turned to other projects, such as First Night, but I could not just forget Lise Meitner.

If, like me, you had never heard of her, you are in for a something really astounding: a story of determination, prejudice, betrayal, presidents, kings, two world wars, the atomic bomb, and the woman who lived through it all, never gave up, and shaped the world in which we live.

Regards,

Tom

A portion of all author royalties from the sale of FISSION, no matter where purchased, go to the ‘Because I am a GiRL’ campaign by Plan, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children since 1937. Visit PlanUSA at http://www.planusa.org or get involved with your own national/regional Plan office.