A very baffling question was occupying the thoughts of Caroline Herschel as she went about her daily tasks of cleaning and scouring the family home in Hanover. The problem was her own life and what she could do to become more than the household drudge she was. Her life was no different from those of other German girls of her station in the late 1700's, but Caroline was different. She wanted to learn and hopefully to become independent. Caroline had no books to which she could turn for the answer, and nobody, it seemed, could help her with the solution to her problem.

Help finally did come, however, from her "dearest of brothers," William, who quickly involved her in his exciting musical career in Bath, England, and in his dearly loved avocation of astronomy, which eventually took over both their lives. Together they swept the skies with telescopes they themselves had built and made outstanding contributions to the science of astronomy. William became Sir William Herschel, the world renowned scientist, and Caroline also became a famous astronomer in her own right.

This is an enjoyable and thoroughly satisfying story of the dedication and achievement of a valiant woman who was determined to become more than a mere "Cinderella."

From the dust jacket