In the autumn of 1933, Albert Einstein was living alone in an isolated holiday hut in Norfolk, ‘on the run’ from Nazi death threats. There, he toiled peacefully at mathematics while occasionally stepping out for walks or to play his violin.

Andrew Robinson tells the story of the world’s greatest scientist’s long and fruitful relationship with Britain for the first time. Young Einstein’s passion for British physics, epitomized by Isaac Newton, had sparked his scientific development around 1900. British astronomers had confirmed his general theory of relativity, making him internationally famous in 1919.

Welcomed by the country’s inhabitants, who helped him campaign against Nazi antisemitism, he even intended to become a British citizen in 1933. So why did Einstein then leave the UK for America, never to return to Europe?

Andrew Robinson has written more than 25 books, including Einstein: A Hundred Years of Relativity, The Last Man Who Knew Everything, and Genius: A Very Short Introduction. He also contributes regularly to newspapers and magazines.

Martin Rees is Astronomer Royal, and has been Master of Trinity College and Director of the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University. As a member of the UK’s House of Lords and former President of the Royal Society, he is much involved in international science and issues of technological risk. His books include Our Cosmic Habitat (Princeton), Just Six Numbers,  Our Final Hour (published in the UK as Our Final Century) and On the Future. He lives in Cambridge, UK.