A Bitter Equation is a novel based on the true story of a woman who believed that she could do anything. A young woman who could financially support her mother and deaf sister after her father died. A ‘surplus woman’ who could reinvent her life after the loss of her fiancé at Gallipoli. An entrepreneur who could create a market for information services using new technology. A businesswoman who could succeed in a man’s world. An Irishwoman who could ignore the sectarian divide and succeed with both sides. A company director who could keep her nationally important work in the Second World War secret for the rest of her life. A retiree who could thrive in a lochside house without running water, electricity or road access.
This website tells the real story behind the novel.
Click on the pictures to go to the relevant part of the website:
Key Characters: Captain John & Dora Metcalf, August 1935 
BTM: The inner workings of a Bombe Machine 
Behind the Scenes: Loch Morar 
Women Computers and Typists at BTM
A Bitter Equation 