Despite their differences in age and background, Mary and Elizabeth discover that, in struggling for recognition, friendship is their strongest weapon.

Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty and barely suppressed envy. Luckily Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly, intelligent Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster who is also fossil-obsessed. Tracy Chevalier is the author of five previous novels, including the international bestseller Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Virgin Blue, Falling Angels, The Lady and the Unicorn and Burning Bright. Even nature is a threat, throwing bitter cold, storms, and landslips at her. 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. 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 the early nineteenth century, a windswept beach along the English coast brims with fossils for those with the eye.įrom the moment she's struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear Mary Anning is marked for greatness. 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.Ī revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - 9780007178384 Categories: Contemporary Fiction Classic Books & Novels Historical Fiction 25 off Share Remarkable Creatures 3.87 (49,061 ratings by Goodreads) Paperback English By (author) Tracy Chevalier US13.14 US17.75 You save US4.61 Also available in CD-Audio US23. 'It is a stunning story, compassionately reimagined' Guardian