Stephen Hawking defied medical expectations that he would die within two years of his diagnosis, living until 2018 at the age of 76 and becoming one of the most celebrated minds of our time. However, during his student years, his father Frank Hawking was deeply concerned about his son's future, lamenting in previously unknown diaries that 'he hangs round the house with little initiative and does not study much.'
Unprecedented Access to Family Papers
Graham Farmelo, a Costa award-winning biographer and physicist, has been given unprecedented access to family papers and photographs for the first definitive biography authorized by the Stephen Hawking estate. The publisher John Murray will announce the book's release in September. Farmelo has uncovered material ranging from Frank Hawking's diaries to letters and journals of Stephen's mother, Isobel, kept until now in the home of Hawking's sister Mary.
Raw and Honest Insight
Farmelo described the discovery as 'a wonderful, completely unexpected bonus' that offers a 'raw and honest insight' into Hawking's upbringing and the devastating diagnosis of motor neurone disease at age 21. Hawking defied expectations, living for decades and achieving groundbreaking work in cosmology and theoretical physics, exploring black holes, space, and time.
Hawking once said, 'Life would be tragic if it weren't funny. My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.' He inspired millions to 'look up at the stars and not down at your feet.'
Father's Secret Code
Frank Hawking, an expert in tropical diseases, kept a diary for over 60 years, writing many entries in a secret code using Greek script. Farmelo cracked the code, translating more than 200,000 words about his son's childhood, illness, marriages, and career. In 1961, Frank wrote: 'We are a little worried at the way Stephen is turning out. He hangs round the house with little initiative and does not study much.'
He added, 'Isobel says he has an inferiority complex to me... and he has lost faith in physics at Oxford, thinking it is inferior to arts. This is a great pity if so.' Frank struggled with his son's declining health, noting in 1967: 'I find it a slow and ghastly experience with Stephen. Everything is so dreadfully slow and long drawn out. I am very sorry for him but I don't enjoy being with him.'
Biography Details
Farmelo's previous book, The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius, won the Costa biography prize. His new biography, titled Hawking, will be published on 24 September by John Murray, described as 'the definitive portrait of an exceptional life and intellect.' Farmelo interviewed Hawking's sisters, first wife Jane, and three children Robert, Lucy, and Tim for the book.
