Remarkable Creatures: Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier`s stunning novel of how one woman`s gift transcends class and gender to lead to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century.

A revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship.

In the early nineteenth century, a windswept beach along the English coast brims with fossils for those with the eye…

From the moment she`s struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear Mary Anning is marked for greatness. When she uncovers unknown dinosaur fossils in the cliffs near her home, she sets the scientific world alight, challenging ideas about the world`s creation and stimulating debate over our origins. In an arena dominated by men, however, Mary is soon reduced to a serving role, facing prejudice from the academic community, vicious gossip from neighbours, and the heartbreak of forbidden love. Even nature is a threat, throwing bitter cold, storms, and landslips at her.

Luckily Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly, intelligent Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster who is also fossil-obsessed. Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty and barely suppressed envy. Despite their differences in age and background, Mary and Elizabeth discover that, in struggling for recognition, friendship is their strongest weapon.