a love story

by Wyn Bowen Harries

Characters :

Rosalind Franklin, X ray crystallographer

Adrienne Weill, Physicist, French,

Raymond Gosling : Phd student

Maurice Wilkins: Biophysician at King’s College, London

Francis Crick: Scientist at Cavendish Labs, Cambridge

Scene 1.

James Watson: Scientist, American

TIME : 1950’s

The musician plays while Rosalind listens remembering her time in Paris and London after the war. Adrienne joins saying how much she has missed her. We come to realise that Adrienne is reminiscing with her now dead friend. Rosalind died 6 years previously, but they converse about the Nobel prize that was not to be hers. Adrienne takes her by the hand and leads her on the path to rediscover her life in Science.

Scene 2. King’s College, London. We meet Gosling and Wilkins who is apologising to Gosling that his new supervisor will be a woman. Rosalind enters. An argument ensues where Rosalind says she was to work on proteins but now finds she is to work on DNA.  Wilkins tries to escape by saying he is going to lunch. She says she will come with him, but he replies that women are not allowed in the Senior Common Room.

Scene 3. Roslind’s Flat. She arrives home through the smog and wasteland which is Parts of London after the War declaring why on earth did she leave Paris where life was lived to the full whereas in England the men like Wilkins are so straight and formal. We find out they are both Jewish and that there is always pressure on the Women to marry and have children. “How do I tell mother that my love is Science and not men”

Scene 4. King’s. Another argument erupts when we understand that Roslind is now expected to be Wilkins’ assistant and not be responsible for her own work. Would she be prepared to form a partnership then? The answer is that she will not share any data or results with anyone until she is sure they are correct. Wilkins says she should have stayed in Paris with her work on the structure of coal! She says he should have stayed in America with his Manhattan project and Atom bomb. Wilkins leaves but Gosling stays and supports Roslind since he believes in the new rights for women and social justice in post war socialist policies.

Scene 5. Roslind’s flat. The two women have a discussion on Entropy and Schrodinger’s ideas on biology, before moving on to describe Roslind’s work on what is a nucleotide. The chemical symbols are seen on the screens. This is the beginning of the detective story of what is the structure of DNA  

Scene 6. Naples. We meet James Watson at a conference in Naples. He tries to persuade Wilkins to take him on at King’s.

Scene 7.  King’s. Wilkins introduces Watson to Roslind. He wants her to help him with his work in Cambridge. It is obvious that he is there to get ahead in the race for DNA structure and the Nobel prize. Another argument ensues when Roslind accuses Wilkins of saying that he took an X-ray photo that suggests a helix structure when in fact it was Gosling. She says there is no proof yet and accuses Wilkins of bad science. She sends them both packing.

Scene 8. The Alps in France. Relief and a tonic to go walking in the mountains away from smoggy London and men like Wilkins and Watson. They chat about school days and what it was like for a little Jewish girl in a Christian school. Boys and sex. We realise here how naive Roslind is and how disinterested she is in anything but Science.

Scene 9. The Eagles Pub, Cambridge. We meet Francis Crick who has been to a conference in Stockholm. Linus Pauling, one of the greatest chemists has proved that proteins are helixes, demonstrated with the aid of a model. The race is on if Pauling gets involved with DNA. They attempt a version of a model themselves but need better photos. Who has the photos – yes Rosy as they keep calling her.

Scene 10. King’s. Ros is in her own world holding a new photo and slowly dancing around the room. Gosling surprises her. She tells him the exciting news that there are 2 forms of DNA –A and B. Wilkins enters, Gosling stupidly tells him the news. Wilkins insists they cooperate, but she refuses and shockingly swears at him. Wilkins has never heard such a thing from a woman before, calls her Rosy before she sends him packing again.

Scene 11. Flat. Ros screams with frustration and becomes very upset, saying how everyone hates her and wants to pack it all in. Adrienne comforts her saying it’s very dificult being a woman in such a macho egotistical world.

Scene 12. Crick/Watson lab Cambridge. They have built a model. Roslind has been invited to view it. She completely destroys their theory, the nitrogen base, sugar and phosphate groups are in the wrong order. X-Ray crystallography is the answer not little boys playing with models.

Scene 13. Flat. Schadenfreude is a wonderful thing sometimes as Ros describes Watson/Crick’s reaction. However, Adrienne asks why she doesn’t believe DNA is a Helix when she has done all the hard work? Rosy replies she has no proof, and proof is the only way good science can develop. Models are not enough.

Scene 14. King’s. Watson visits Ros to try to get more info and to get her to join the race for the Nobel. She refuses and throws him out

Scene 15. Corridor King’s. Watson and Wilkins complain about Rosy. Wilkins shows the latest photo given to him by Gosling. Waw, oh waw, it is the famous photo 51!

Scene 16. King’s lab. Ros is wearily working the maths. Adrienne enters, says she has to leave for France. They start dancing. The last Waltz?

Scene 17. Eagles pub. Photo 51 clearly shows a double helix. Watson has also acquired Rosy’s paper from Wilkins, which is not the way Crick wants to work. This gives them all the info they need to build their model. Watson explains how nucleotides fit together with the aid of cardboard cutouts. Eureka! Crick stands in the pub to exclaim they have solved the secret of life.

Scene 18. Kings Lab. Roslind reads her letter to Adrienne saying she is leaving Kings. Gosling says the race is lost. Ros insists there was no race. She had been to see their model and congratulated them on their achievement. Gosling leaves, Ros collapses in pain, Adrienne arrives saying how sorry she was for not being with her when she was ill. She loves Ros.

Scene 19. Eagles. Crick and Watson discuss the way forward – paper in Nature magazine etc, don’t mention Rosy because they would have to admit ‘borrowing’ her data.

Scene 20. America. Cape Cod. Ros is on a speaking tour, meets Watson. She feels so much freer in America. They appear to have forgiven their differences and discuss future work on viruses.

Scene 21. Nobel Prize. Watson reads his acceptance speech where there is no mention of Rosalind Franklin, only the splendid work of men like Wilkins and Crick.

Scene 22. Ros and Adrienne talk about cancer, the future of disease control via DNA and RNA, love and the fact she couldn’t love Adrienne properly, or anyone else either. Her love was and always would be science. She asks Adrienne for a goodnight kiss.

THE END