Once Upon a Prime

‘A hugely entertaining and well-written tour of the links between math and literature. Hart’s lightness of touch and passion for both subjects make this book a delight to read. Bookworms and number-lovers alike will discover much they didn’t know about the creative interplay between stories, structure and sums.’ – Alex Bellos ‘This exuberant book will educate, amuse and surprise. It might even add another dimension to the way you read.’ – The Sunday Times We often think of mathematics and literature as polar opposites. But what if, instead, they were fundamentally linked? In this insightful, laugh-out-loud funny book, Once Upon a Prime, Professor Sarah Hart shows us the myriad connections between maths and literature, and how understanding those connections can enhance our enjoyment of both. Did you know, for instance, that Moby-Dick is full of sophisticated geometry? That James Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness novels are deliberately checkered with mathematical references? That George Eliot was obsessed with statistics? That Jurassic Park is undergirded by fractal patterns? That Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote mathematician characters? From sonnets to fairytales to experimental French literature, Once Upon a Prime takes us on an unforgettable journey through the books we thought we knew, revealing new layers of beauty and wonder. Professor Hart shows how maths and literature are complementary parts of the same quest, to understand human life and our place in the universe.

‘A hugely entertaining and well-written tour of the links between math and literature. Hart’s lightness of touch and passion for both subjects make this book a delight to read. Bookworms and number-lovers alike will discover much they didn’t know about the creative interplay between stories, structure and sums.’ – Alex Bellos, bestselling author of Alex’s Adventures in Numberland ‘Once Upon a Prime is an absolute joy to read! Sarah Hart has created something wonderful: from nursery rhymes to Moby-Dick, she uncovers hidden links that I never could have imagined, but which I will never forget.’ – Steven Levitt, bestselling author of Freakonomics “This lively and personal book uncovers quirky nuggets of mathematics in a wide variety of literature, with new perspectives on books I’ve already read and intriguing mathematical reasons to seek out some books I haven’t. Professor Hart is a welcome and fresh new voice in bringing math to a wider audience.” – Eugenia Cheng, author of How to Bake Pi

Sarah Hart is Professor of Mathematics at Birkbeck College (University of London). Educated at Oxford and Manchester, Professor Hart is the 33rd person and first ever woman to hold the Gresham Professorship of Geometry, the oldest mathematics chair in the UK.