THE WOMAN WITH THE CURE

Hillary Huber is compelling in Cullen's fictionalized story of Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, a real-life scientist who made an enormous contribution to the discovery of the polio vaccine. Like so many women in history, Horstmann was ignored while Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin received all the recognition even though her work was equally critical. Huber's timing and subtle tones reveal Horstmann's character, including her insecurities--her awkward height, her struggle to be taken seriously, and her very human response to paralyzed patients as people, not statistics, which was rare in doctors in those days. Huber adopts a light accent and almost purrs for Arne Holm, Horstmann's invented Danish lover. It's crushing when their romance falls apart, mostly because a female scientist couldn't balance it all. A.B. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2023]