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At a glance
- Condition
- New
- Publisher
- Penguin Books
- Accessibility
- Learn more
- Publication date
- October 28, 2009
- Language
- English
- File size
- 1.3 MB
- Screen Reader
- Supported
Description
From the New York Times bestselling novelist, a stunning historical novel that follows the story of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, two extraordinary 19th century fossil hunters who changed the scientific world forever. On the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast, poor and uneducated Mary learns that she has a unique gift: "the eye" to spot ammonites and other fossils no one else can see. When she uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious community on edge, the townspeople to gossip, and the scientific world alight. After enduring bitter cold, thunderstorms, and landslips, her challenges only grow when she falls in love with an impossible man. Mary soon finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth, a middle-class spinster who shares her passion for scouring the beaches. Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty, mutual appreciation, and barely suppressed envy, but ultimately turns out to be their greatest asset. From the author of At the Edge of the Orchard and Girl With a Pearl Earring comes this incredible story of two remarkable women and their voyage of discovery. Read more
Specs 9
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | Learn more |
| Publication date | October 28, 2009 |
| Language | English |
| File size | 1.3 MB |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
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Top Amazon Reviews
What a great story
Format: Kindle
The history of Mary Anning is so remarkable and this book clarifies it beautifully. Her finds of plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs were historic. Beautifully written story of an amazing person.
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2026 by Jean B
REMARKABLE CREATURES a remarkable read
Format: Paperback
This is only ADULT novel I've read on Anning, the previous ones having been a children's book and a Young Adult novel (DRAGONS IN THE ROCKS was the title of one of them--i forget which). Mary Ann Anning was a real person, a Napoleonic-era female credited with the discovery, description, and naming of several prehistoric species. I found Chevalier's version--necessarily creative, since facts are, not surprisingly, few about this too-early pioneer-- very absorbing and, btw, very filmable. The novel is actually two interlaced memories; one narrated by Mary Ann Anning, as the story starts a pre-teen of poor family. Her father is a distractible (by fossils, collections of which were trendy) and not highly competent cabinetmaker, whose early death plunges the Annings into marginal living. The other narrator is Elizabeth Philpot, a slightly older and better-off woman, something of an exile from the bright lights of London, through the marriage of her older brother, the sole heir, given the times, to her family's comfortable income. She has the benefits of better education, though, especially relatively to almost all women of early 19th-century England, and is fascinated by science literature of the day. Elizabeth's intellectual interests, and Mary's financial straits, drive them together onto the beaches of Lyme Regis, a small village in Dorsetshire, on the south shore of England, in the days when dinosaurs could be denied, and were, by all but a few, in the infancy of paleontology. To Mary, the "curios" are primarily items to sell to tourists, although she also has her imagination stirred by them. Vacationing Londoners flocked to Lyme Regis for the bathing beaches, which were equipped with "bathing machines" for the ladies--little houses that could be wheeled out into the surf so that ladies (it would be less delicate to refer to them as "women") could bathe in their --slightly-- reduced clothing without being exposed to the eyes of men. The two hit it off, at first in an almost mother/daughter way, and form a working partnership. (Mary's mother, practical and made desperate by pre-safetynet widowhood, has no patience for her daughter's scientific passion or her attraction to the patrician Philpot). The stories from then on trace several developments: Mary's growth into womanhood, her romantic sufferings and an eventual self-acceptance that is shockingly modern (and feminist) for her time; Elizabeth's parallel and…overlapping...romantic sufferings ["Spoiler" spoiler: Despite that last bit, REMARKABLE CREATURES is not a bodice-ripper…well, OK, maybe ONE bodice]; a bitterness that temporarily divides them; the struggle of these two women against the sexism of their times--now long behind us, of course-- in being accepted as women of science; the progress of that science itself against religious prejudices. All told within the convincingly re-imagined context of an absolutely true story of two early science heroes, by a skilled and popular (GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING) author.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2015 by Ronald G. Linville
Not drawn to the study of fossils, yet the book was still amazing
Format: Paperback
"Girl with the Pearl Earring" was the only novel I had read by this author until now. Both of these novels have been book club selections and I am eager to discuss this one with my group next week. After reading this latest from Ms. Chevalier, I am definitely motivated to go back and read the rest of her work. Set in 19th century England, the story mainly takes place on the southern coast in a village called Lyme Regis. A financially comfortable, but not wealthy, family needs to find somewhere the three spinsters sisters may make their home since residing in London is beyond their means. The family members go on a tour of the country looking for an appropriate place to settle the sisters and the decision is made to relocate them to Lyme Regis. Elizabeth Philpot, the middle sister, is fascinated by the fossils to be found on the beach and in the rock formations abutting it. She meets the young daughter of the local cabinet maker who contributes to the family's income by selling the fossils she finds to tourists coming through the town. The lives of these two women and their shared interest in fossils provides the basis of the narrative. There are other supporting characters and secondary storylines, but the focus really is on the discovery of fossils and the impact these finds have on the scientific community. I had no idea this was based upon actual people and true events, but I now have the desire to travel there and see it all for myself. A part historical fiction, part literary fiction, and a small part romance, this novel will appeal to a wide variety of readers. The characters are incredibly drawn and fully fleshed out, even the more minor ones are terrific. The setting is so beautifully described that I could practically feel the sea spray on my face. The dialog is so well written and the voices are so clear that within just a sentence or two the reader knows who is speaking even without that person being identified. I give this book the highest praise since science isn't my thing and I am not particularly interested in fossils but I still thought the novel was fabulous. When a writer can write about a subject I am not particularly interested in and make me love the book - that's pretty amazing. Chevalier is a master of the language as well as a master story-teller. Great, great book!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2011 by Holly
two remarkable women
Format: Paperback
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier is a historical fiction novel based on the life of female fossil hunters Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot. Mary Anning was a working class young girl when she started finding fossils or "curies" (curiosities) with her father on the beaches at Lyme Regis, England, in the 19th century. Her father died and she continued to collect curies in order to sell them to support her family. Elizabeth Philpot, twenty years Mary's senior, was an unmarried gentlewoman who moved to Lyme Regis with two of her sisters. They were to "retire" there and live out their lives as spinsters. Mary and Elizabeth met and became friends because of their love of fossils. When Mary uncovered the first complete skeleton of an ichthyosaurus she originally thought it was some kind of crocodile - but this error was understandable. At this time most women had few rights and certainly a working class woman would never be educated or given credit for the practical, working knowledge she had - knowledge that surpassed that of many men who claimed to be experts at the time. Elizabeth helped to educate Mary and taught her how to label her fossils using Linnaean classification. Mary went on to discover another ancient marine reptile called a plesiosaur. All of this was before Darwin, so the idea of finding the remains of creatures that no longer existed in the world was a radical idea and not readily accepted by everyone. While fighting to make the male dominated paleontologists of the day recognize Mary's contributions to the field, Elizabeth says, "So be it. A woman's life is always a compromise. (pg. 26)" And while acknowledging that this is a work of fiction, Chevalier writes: "Remarkable Creatures is a work of fiction, but many of the people existed, and events such as Colonel Birch's auction and the Geological Society meeting where Coneybeare talked about the plesiosaur did take place.( pg 309, postscript)" Mary Anning was the inspiration for the tongue-twister "She sells seashells by the seashore." In Remarkable Creatures both characters voice in alternating chapters a first person account of their friendship and how their lives intertwined. Chevalier gives Elizabeth and Mary unique voices so it is immediately apparent who is talking in each chapter. It is a beautifully written account of two remarkable women and made for a compelling novel.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2012 by She Treads Softly
OK but rather slow
Format: Kindle
This historical novel is about Mary Anning (1799-1847), an uneducated woman living in the small coastal town of Lyme, England, who—beginning when she was a child—showed an amazing knack for finding fossils in the local cliffs, including several of water-living dinosaurs (ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs). The best of her finds eventually graced British museums and fueled the discussions about evolution and geological history that were just beginning in her time, but until fairly late in her life, the men who bought and wrote about her specimens got all the credit for finding them. The novel is narrated alternately by Mary and by Elizabeth Philpot (also a real person), one of three spinster sisters from London who were forced by their lack of money to move to Lyme. As an “impoverished gentlewoman,” Elizabeth had to watch her pennies, but she was upper-class compared to Mary. Nonetheless, they shared an interest in fossils (Elizabeth’s specialty was fossil fish) and, for part of their lives, a close friendship—though the book focuses on a bad breakup between them that lasted some years (I don’t know whether that was fictional or not). Most of the other characters in the book were also real people, though some of the events were fictionalized. Both Mary and Elizabeth were interesting and endearing, and a few of the other characters also stood out—most notably Mary’s mother, Molly, who proved to be a shrewd businesswoman (the Anning family depended financially on the sale of the fossils, or “curies,” that Mary found, so that was important) and much more determined to stand up to Mary’s upper-class patrons than Mary was. On the whole, however, the book was a slow and rather tepid reading experience. The problem, I think, was simply that Mary, in spite of her importance in the history of paleontology, did not lead a very dramatic life, and Chevalier was unable to overcome that disadvantage. I have read historical novels that managed to make outwardly rather quiet lives thrilling (Natasha Boyd’s The Indigo Girl comes to mind), but this wasn’t one of them.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2019 by lisaleo (Lisa Yount)
Loved the Remarkable Women and the Remarkable Creatures
I love historical fiction, and this is one of the most enjoyable works I have ever read. The author has an unbelievable talent for putting the reader in the time and place she chooses. Early nineteenth century England comes alive with vibrant depictions of the lives of women, and in particular, two who find a deep and lasting friendship through their love of science and fossils of theretofore unknown creatures in our universe. Mary Anning begins searching for and researching fossils while still virtually a child. Although poor and unschooled, her reputation in this field grows as she does, and she consistently finds new creatures on and near the beaches of southern England, including what we learn is the ichthyosaurus and then the plesiosaurus. She is aided by a woman of higher social stature, Miss Elizabeth Philpot, herself a fossil hunter, who respects Mary's talents and comes to love her. Mary helps support her family by selling her "curies" and the creatures to museums and collectors - many of whom come to scour the beaches with her. There is hardship, love, angst, geological history, and Mary and Elizabeth's quest for Mary to be recognized as the true finder of these discoveries, a very difficult prospect for any woman at this point in history. This book was a joyous read and delightful departure from anything I have read of late. I can not recommend highly enough.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2012 by Gettysburg Girl
LADIES FIRST TO DISCOVER TREASURE TROVE OF FOSSILS
Format: Kindle
Tracy Chevalier always manages to knock my mind into assorted pieces of joy. The author of Girl with a Pearl Earring this time choses an English setting, seaside beaches and cliffs in Southern England in the Devon region. The remarkable creatures are not the academic and pseudo-scientists in Oxford and Paris, but girls who beachcomb and study their treasures; As they age, variations in education, perspective, marital opportunities, among other things, leads to intense jealousy between two particular wormen, one of whom cannot even read. Yet, as fossils become more than trinkets and items to be sold to tourists, each makes remarkable discoveries which wind up in the British Museum. That they have come so far has much to do with the buying and selling to notably wealthy men who understand less about fossils that the women. There are some brutal storms between the women that make .compelling reading, but each carries out her work indefatigably. I deliberately leave out plot details from my reviews because I know they are already posted and need not be recited again. What fascinates me most about this book is that it takes place in the early 19th Century, when women were so restricted in society, and these women manage to slip under the wall of repression. I am amazed also, that their observations, which still stand, are all pre- Darwin. They stumble upon scientific method, observe extinct species, and want to find out why they are extinct, and why a crocodile fossil specimen can wind up in a place like Devon or Lyme. I felt as if, knowing there were others with these interests, Darwin is almost the apex of change in our own species--how we think, learn, question. All the events in the book take place before The Origin of the Species was published. Yet, the questions Darwin raises had been forming its own volcano in the evolution of the human mind. These topics Chevalier brings to life with her typical simple, yet elegant and melodic prose. Chevalier was born in Washington, D.C., although she lives with her husband and children in English. I am sorry the book cannot be short-listed for the Man-Booker Prize. While the work is a novel, the book is based on a true story that is as much part of English history of science as Charles Darwin himself.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2013 by Mary Holmes Dague
Fascinating historical content, but no real plot or anything for the reader to connect to
Format: Hardcover
Tracy Chevalier's new novel, "Remarkable Creatures" is an absolute triumph in terms of writing an accurate and personalized account of an absolutely fascinating chapter in the study of natural history-and two remarkable women who defied social convention of the time to advance knowledge of the past. Elizabeth Philpot is a twenty five year old spinster sent into exile in the small sea town of Lyme Regis with her two equally unmarried sisters upon her brother's marriage. Though the sisters are comfortable well off, Elizabeth finds little in the small town that equals the intellectual stimulation she could reliably find in London. But all that changes with the discovery of her first fossils-and the even greater discovery of a local girl, Mary Anning, who was struck by lightning as a baby and possess an almost unnatural eye for finding fossils. Mary doesn't know much about the "curies" (curiosities) she finds at first except that people will buy them from her-and how to find the best. But soon an unlikely friendship develops between Mary and Elizabeth and together they learn about the strange beasts they find upon the beach and captured in the cliffs-and how their very existent challenges the approved history of creation. This book is fascinating in the intellectual sense. I had no idea that people ever, in all of history, denied that extinction existed, much less claimed that the very concept went against the supremacy of god. Since this novel takes place in the early 1800's extinction is still regarded as heresy by many people-making the strangest and most wonderful creatures Mary finds not only complex puzzles about nature, god and the past, but also cast aspersions upon her skill at hunting fossils and question if the magnificent creatures she pries out of the rocks could indeed be an unknown animal-as opposed to several animal parts combined. But as interesting as the fossil history and creation arguments are, they don't really hold the book together. There is very little plot in this novel- it's more of a progression of time. And though it is only slightly over 300 pages long it covers over ten years-making for small descriptions of even the most important events. My favorite Chevalier books, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Lady and the Unicorn" are really just the kind of stories that make up people's lives-nothing grand, just an out of the ordinary experience for the people involved. This book isn't like that. It's not so much a story as a short history with some dialog and emotion built in. And while the actual writing is impeccable, the writing style made it hard to care about characters or coming events. In short, this is a novel without any suspense. But the quality of the writing and clearly fantastic research quality are mitigating factors. And the subject matter is fascinating enough to read through even when there is no plot. Four stars.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2010 by Lilly Flora