I really enjoyed Girl with a Pearl Earring so I was disappointed that I just couldn't get into Remarkable Creatures. It was a slow read for me ... kept waiting to get excited by the fossil finds but it didn't happen. ( )

Told in two main voices: that of Mary Anning, poor and illiterate, who has a knack of finding fossils in the rich beaches of Lime Regis, and Elizabeth Philpot, older middle class spinster who becomes her friend and sometime protector. The story tells of Anning's input to the world of fossil hunting and Evolution, in a time when women were not recognised for their scientific contributions, and when the idea of Evolution was still new and considered to be blasphemy.

Tracy Chevalier’s story of two real-life fossil-hunters in early 19th-century England reads like a Jane Austen novel, which isn’t surprising since Lyme Regis, a place visited by Austen early in the nineteenth century, is where and when this tale is set. It’s not an edge-of-your-seat page turner, but this historical fiction is worthy of your time.

Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot were remarkable, as were the relics found by both women. They were extraordinary women for their times and Mary, in particular, found fossils that baffled experts of the day. That bafflement is expressed well in the novel; in addition, Chevalier highlights the difficulty in reconciling the existence of skeletons of unknown and probably extinct creatures with the Creationist philosophy that was prevalent at the time.

Chevalier chronicles the possible relationship between Mary and Elizabeth, highlighting their presumed differences and similarities, as she speculates on how known historical events would have played out from the perspective of each of the women. Both women were unmarried, one genteel and one too poor to be strictly genteel, and both were interested in fossils. Mary was around twenty years younger than Elizabeth, but still one would expect they ran into each other a lot, both while fossil-hunting and while conducting business in daily life in their small town. Chevalier presumes that both women lived lives of some despair, having failed to marry, but I prefer to think they lived boldly and without regret. Perhaps they had no time for regret.

One note about reading: this is told in first person, alternating between Mary and Elizabeth, and the narrator is not named; one has to read a bit before recognizing from the context and vernacular of the narrator which of the paleontologists is speaking.

As with all historical fiction, the facts are the framework but license is taken in building relationships; approach the book with an open and curious mind, and follow up with your own research into the lives and times of Mary and Elizabeth as well as their colleagues. The author gets you started on your research; keep going past the last chapter of the novel and you’ll find a summary of the life and death of each of the women, as well as information on family members and colleagues.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier was an impulse read when I found it browsing at the library. The novel tells the story of Mary Anning, an early fossil hunter in Lyme Regis. Her discoveries of creatures that no longer exist seem to question church teachings. Chevalier tells the story from two perspectives: Anning herself and a fictional ally named Elizabeth Philpot. Their friendship--with its ups and downs--forms the core of the story. These women struggle to make their way in a world dominated by men. ( )

Mooi boek over de levens van twee vrouwelijke fossielenjagers, begin 19e eeuw. Gebaseerd op bestaande personen en feiten. Hun ontdekkingen brengen de godsdienstige overtuiging een ander perspectief. Schiep God de aarde in 6 dagen, of is "dag" de aanduiding van een langere periode? Waarom stierven sommige dieren uit? Een foutje in de schepping of een probeersel van God? ( )