The Invention of Everything Else

The Invention of Everything Else is a novel written by American author Samantha Hunt, published in 2008. The novel presents a fictionalized account of the last days in the life of Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American electrical engineer. Other fictionalized versions of historical characters include Thomas Edison (a rival), George Westinghouse, and Mark Twain. Tesla is the novel's protagonist along with a chambermaid named Louisa with whom he shares some common interests including science and pigeons. Much of the book takes place in the New Yorker Hotel. The book also includes elements of science fiction, namely time travel.
The author, Samantha Hunt, received a National Book Foundation award for authors under 35, for her previous novel, "The Seas". "The Invention of Everything Else" was shortlisted for an award from "Believer" magazine and shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She won the Bard Fiction Prize for 2010.