Wednesday, June 20, 2018

REMARKABLE CREATURES




Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org


Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier, Dutton, 2010, 310 pp
 
 
This was my May selection for my 12 Books To Read From My TBR Lists challenge. It was so great! I was inspired to read it after I finished The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. Remarkable Creatures is a fictionalized account of Mary Anning, one of the world's first women to make advances in the study of fossils.
 
Many factors combine to make this such a good historical novel, not the least of which is Tracy Chevalier's writing. The setting on England's windswept coast of the English Channel, the symbolically rocky friendship between Mary and middle-class spinster Elizabeth Philpot, the conflicts between science and religion, as well as between men and women, and the exciting advances made in science during the early 1800s.
 
Mary was poor and uneducated but gifted when it came to spotting fossils. She discovered a formerly unknown species from ancient times resulting in a shake-up in the scientific community and the usual attempts of men to take credit for and undermine the work of a female.
 
The book is a great testament to independent women, female friendship, smart women, and the ways that driven, talented, stubborn women can overcome misogyny. Of course, the price paid is terrible but sure makes for great tales! 


(Remarkable Creatures is available in paperback by order from Once Upon A Time Bookstore.)

12 comments:

  1. I liked this novel very much, more so than two other Chevalier novels that I have read, including the one she is famous for. I thought she explored the intricacies of a female friendship and professional rivalry in an authentic way.

    Here is link to my review:
    http://www.cpa-booksandmoviesreviews.com/2012/12/remarkable-creatures-by-tracy-chevalier.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read your review. We agree on this one!

      Delete
  2. I think you would appreciate this review of Phantom Thread.
    https://ohthatfilmblog.com/2018/02/07/phantom-thread-2017/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did appreciate that! She got it like we did. What a great film blog too. I am now following it. Thanks!

      Delete
  3. I loved this book and I'm so glad that you did, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Remarkable Creatures was also a favourite of mine. We read it with our book club and had a nice discussion about it.
    Tracy Chevalier always manages to capture my attention. I'm glad you like her, too.
    Happy Reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Marianne. I have decided to read more by Tracy Chevalier. Such a good writer.

      Delete
    2. I couldn't agree more. I've read five of her novels so far and will try to get all of them.
      Happy Monday!

      Delete
  5. I've added this novel to my ever growing reading wishlist as I do love historical fiction! Maybe I'll even listen to the audio version!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy it as much as I and many others have.

      Delete
  6. I read this one a while back and thought it was well done.

    ReplyDelete