60 pages • 2 hours read
Stuart GibbsCharlie Thorne And The Last Equation
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: Albert Einstein
Stuart Gibbs studied biology in college, and science inspires much of his work. Science features most heavily in the Charlie Thorne series, which was partially “inspired by a traveling exhibit on Albert Einstein that [he] saw twice at two different museums, and by reading about geniuses” (“FAQ.” Stuart Gibbs). In fact, Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation begins with the death of Einstein in 1955, and Einstein’s legacy is an integral element of the narrative.
Einstein was a German physicist (1879-1955) and one of the most respected and recognizable figures in science. He was born in the German Empire, moved to Switzerland in 1895 to pursue his education, and renounced his German citizenship in 1896. He published some of his most famous work, including the special theory of relativity, in 1905 while working for the Swiss Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland. The special theory of relativity reconciles the conflict between Maxwell’s laws of electromagnetism and Newton’s laws of motion and includes the famous equation E=mc^2, which describes the relationship between mass and energy.
Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect. He moved to Berlin from 1914 to 1933; however, the rise of the Nazi Party forced him to leave his home and eventually emigrate to the US, where he held a teaching position at Princeton University until his death. In addition to his groundbreaking work in physics, Einstein was also politically involved. He was infamously one of several scientists to sign a letter urging President Roosevelt to fund the development of the nuclear bomb, a decision he later called the greatest mistake of his life. In 1955, he joined other scientists and intellectuals in writing a manifesto denouncing nuclear warfare. He was also a staunch Zionist who advocated for the creation of the state of Israel (Isaacson, Walter. Einstein: His Life and Universe. Simon & Schuster, 2008).
Genre Context: Robert Ludlum and Spy Thrillers
Stuart Gibbs explains that the adventure and spy thriller novels he read as a child inspire much of his writing. In particular, the Charlie Thorne series was inspired by the works of Robert Ludlum, best known for the Jason Bourne trilogy. Ludlum’s books and other spy novels Gibbs read were written for adult audiences and always featured male main characters, so Gibbs wished to write one aimed toward children, with a girl protagonist (“FAQ”).
Ludlum’s novels adhere to several recognizable spy thriller tropes. For instance, his novels usually focus on a single heroic character (usually a man) or a small, idealistic group of people locked in a struggle against powerful and evil forces. The world of Ludlum’s books is often filled with corrupt corporations, shadowy political forces, and dangerous secret military operations. They are also often inspired by conspiracy theories. Spy thrillers, being closely tied to more traditional forms of the mystery and detective novels, often also include recognizable mystery genre tropes like red herrings—information, details, or people that mislead and distract from the truth of a mystery, and the MacGuffin—an object that instigates the conflict and action of the plot, over which the various characters scheme or fight, but which appears to be meaningless or unimportant by the conclusion. The Charlie Thorne series uses many of these tropes while also incorporating Gibbs’s scientific inspiration.
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