The first draft of Galileo’s Daughter contained my translations of all 124 surviving letters from Suor Maria Celeste (Virginia Galilei) to her famous father. More than one hundred, however, were edited out by the final draft.

My literary agent, Michael Carlisle of InkWell Management, conceived the idea to publish all the letters in the original Italian, with English translation and annotations on facing pages, in a gorgeous, expensive volume (real cloth covers, ribbon bookmark)—and to donate all proceeds from its sales to the Poor Clares, the religious order to which both of Galileo’s daughters belonged. In this way, he said, I could thank Mother Mary Francis, Abbess of Poor Clares in America, for the answers she had provided over a period of years to my questions about convent life and the Catholic faith.

The full collection of letters was also published in the UK, under a shortened title, To Father.

Although the hardcover edition is out of print, Letters to Father is still available (English text only) as a Penguin Classic.