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CAROLINE HERSCHEL, who lived from 1750 to 1848, is often portrayed simply as sister and assistant to the astronomer William Herschel. Her role was far more significant.

Born in Germany, she was denied education beyond the basic level by selfish brothers and a mother who was herself uneducated. When she was 22, she was brought to England to train as a singer by her brother William, who was a composer, performer and conductor in the city of Bath. He had paid for a servant to replace Caroline in the family household.

As his interests turned to astronomy, so hers did, too. They worked together for many years observing and cataloguing the skies. Using a telescope he had given her, she discovered eight comets. However, the importance of her work was not fully recognised until long after her death.

This is not the first biography of Caroline Herschel, indeed plotting the publication dates of previous attempts makes for an interesting task. The first, in 1876, was by Margaret Herschel, the wife of Caroline鈥檚 nephew John. The science writer Agnes Clerke published one in 1895 and two appeared in 1933, one by another relative. Later the pace hots up: between 1974 and 2004 seven biographies appeared in English. Brock鈥檚 is one of two published this year. It is good to see that she is gaining recognition and being written into history.

This book differs from earlier ones, though it covers much familiar material and reveals no major events in Herschel鈥檚 life that I had not heard of, it plays down the role of assistant to her brother. Instead it highlights her ambition, as well as her frustration when prevented from making progress.

This is a welcome insight into Caroline鈥檚 character; it highlights a facet that she herself kept well hidden. It explains her determination and broadens our picture of her personality. Yet Brock overplays it a little, perhaps to make her book stand out from the others.

Furthermore, while I now know a bit more about Caroline鈥檚 character, I still don鈥檛 understand her well. For example, in the light of what we know about her determination, how should we view the fact that in her public utterances she was modest and self-effacing, reflecting any praise back to William. He of course had been her lifeline, so she must have felt some debt to him. I suspect her self-deprecation was the only way to be a lady and do science at the same time.

鈥淚 suspect her self-deprecation was the only way to be a lady and also do science鈥�

She isn鈥檛 the only able female scientist who has had to play it that way. It is notable that honours came to her late. She was 78 when the Royal Astronomical Society awarded her a gold medal, and she received one from the King of Prussia on her 96th birthday. The fact that 160 years were to elapse before the RAS next gave an award of any kind to a woman and a further eight years before it awarded a woman a gold medal speaks volumes about its awareness of female astronomers.

Brock鈥檚 book is attractive and well produced. It is a very good read, and I found myself galloping through it. It is a reminder that opportunities and recognition for women scientists have come only slowly since Herschel鈥檚 time. At my girls鈥� boarding school, we were told we were being educated to be good wives and mothers (presumably what the school felt our fathers wanted to hear). At one of my first job interviews, the interviewer told me he didn鈥檛 approve of women working as it left no one to do the voluntary work. Why such a disappointing pace of change?