Marilyn Monroe wasn't the only woman to fall for his charms. Hundreds of letters written by Albert Einstein to his second wife and step-daughter show the scientific genius to have been a king of lothario who liked to talk about his success with women. The letters were released on the instructions of his step-daughter Margot 20 years after her death. Alex Thomson has this.

When not grappling with relativity, Albert Einstein was grappling with other people's relatives, getting to grips with no fewer than ten mistresses at various times in his two married lives.

Israel's Hebrew University has had a vast batch of Einstein letters, but could only now release them under the terms of his step-daughter's will.

This material consists of two batches of letters. One, er, 200 about 260 letters, most of whom were written to Elsa while he was away from home and the others are letters from his children Hans Albert and Eduard and from his first wife Mileva, particularly after their separation.

The letters, more than 1300, largely cover a period when Einstein lectured across Europe and the US, where he died in 1955 aged 76. And in them, he openly discusses various affairs with his second wife and cousin Elsa and Margot, his step daughter, often giving the impression that these women's affections were unasked for and unwanted and referring to them by a letter, rather than a name.

She followed me to, to England and ah, I didn't really want to this I didn't really want to, want her to follow me. I was, I would tell her that she should disappear next time I see her. In the same letter, he explaines to Margot that it is not Mrs. M, it is Mrs. L who is the only one I care for. At that time it was really Mrs. L who, who had a certain place in Einstein's life.

And it's pretty clear the man himself would not have wanted all this disclosed to the public gaze.

Einstein was a person who did not like the limelight. He did not like to, expose his private life to the public. His secretary and the, and the other trustee of the estate, en, first kept a lot of letters, um, hidden from public and wanted to be published only letters of scientific content. Only step by step, other letters from Einstein's estate became part of Einstein's archives.

It is also apparent there will not be another such disclosure of private correspondence.

In summary, this is a very, ah, rich body of material that I believe will motivate biographers of Einstein, maybe to write new biographies with modified emphasis in different chapters and aspects of his life. And finally, er, the other thing about this event is that this is the last time that such a large comprehensive body of material comes to light.

So now at last we begin to see what Einstein was really driving at with his famous theory. ''E equals MC squared'' was in fact designed to mean "Er indoors equals multiple conquests squared". The equation men have been balancing or not down the centuries.

Alex Thomson. We're back tomorrow noon again at 7 till then from Chrisnan and from me. That's Channel 4 News. Good evening.

lothario

A man who seduces women.
勾引女人的男人

grapple

To struggle, in or as if in wrestling
斗争

a batch of
一批；一组；大量

limelight

A focus of public attention.
众人注目的中心