Thunderstruck

Guglielmo Marconi grows up in affluence in Italy. His father, Giuseppe, is a prosperous farmer married to Anne Jameson of the Irish whisky empire. Anne babies Marconi, protecting him from his overbearing, traditional father. His mother’s desire to keep him away from Catholic influences in Italy results in little formal education, though Marconi is soon engulfed in scientific research and experimentation after a childhood fixation with electricity. Marconi comes to his discovery as if it is self-evident and rushes his experimentation, knowing others will be vying to demonstrate similar discoveries. He is secretive and paranoid, traits which he will keep throughout his life as an inventor and business owner.

Marconi’s love interests include several women, all several years his junior. The first is Josephine Bowen Holman, who breaks off the engagement because of Marconi’s fixation on his work. Marconi later marries young Beatrice O’Brien, who has three children with Marconi but endures a loveless marriage. Their daughter Degna Marconi would later become Marconi’s biographer. Marconi eventually divorces O’Brien and has the marriage annulled so he can wed Maria Cristina Bezzi-Scali, with whom he has one daughter.

Driven by Obsession, Marconi is singular in focus throughout his life, with his attention primarily focused on his invention and the company it spawned.