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Remarkable Creatures: A Novel Paperback – October 26, 2010

by Tracy Chevalier (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 5,823 ratings
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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.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Publication date
    October 26, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.67 x 7.96 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0452296722
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0452296725
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Tracy Chevalier

"Evokes entire landscapes...a master of voices."
—New York Times Book Review (on Falling Angels)

"Absorbing...[Chevalier] creates a world reminiscent of a Vermeer interior: suspended in a particular moment, it transcends its time and place."
—The New Yorker (on Girl With a Pearl Earring)

“Chevalier admirably weaves historical figures and actual events into a compelling narrative.”
—San Francisco Chronicle (on Remarkable Creatures)

"Chevalier's signature talent lies in bringing alive the ordinary day-to-dayness of the past...lovingly evoked."
—Elle (on Burning Bright)

"Chevalier's ringing prose is as radiantly efficient as well-tended silver."
—Entertainment Weekly (on Falling Angels)

About the Author

"I was born and grew up in Washington, DC. After getting a BA in English from Oberlin College (Ohio), I moved to London, England in 1984. I intended to stay 6 months; I’m still here.

"As a kid I’d often said I wanted to be a writer because I loved books and wanted to be associated with them. I wrote the odd story in high school, but it was only in my twenties that I started writing ‘real’ stories, at night and on weekends. Sometimes I wrote a story in a couple evenings; other times it took me a whole year to complete one.

"Once I took a night class in creative writing, and a story I’d written for it was published in a London-based magazine called Fiction. I was thrilled, even though the magazine folded 4 months later.

I worked as a reference book editor for several years until 1993 when I left my job and did a year-long MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (England). My tutors were the English novelists Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain. For the first time in my life I was expected to write every day, and I found I liked it. I also finally had an idea I considered ‘big’ enough to fill a novel. I began The Virgin Blue during that year, and continued it once the course was over, juggling writing with freelance editing.

"An agent is essential to getting published. I found my agent Jonny Geller through dumb luck and good timing. A friend from the MA course had just signed on with him and I sent my manuscript of The Virgin Blue mentioning my friend’s name. Jonny was just starting as an agent and needed me as much as I needed him. Since then he’s become a highly respected agent in the UK and I’ve gone along for the ride."

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (October 26, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0452296722
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0452296725
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.67 x 7.96 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 5,823 ratings

About the author

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Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier

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Tracy is the author of 10 novels, including the international bestseller GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, which has sold over 5 million copies and been made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. American by birth, British by geography, she lives in London with her husband and son. Her latest novel, A SINGLE THREAD, tells the story of an English woman between the Wars who forges an independent life in Winchester. Tracy is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and has honorary doctorates from her alma maters Oberlin College and the University of East Anglia. Her website www.tchevalier.com will tell you more about her and her books.

Photo: Nina Subin

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
5,823 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Holly
5.0 out of 5 stars Not drawn to the study of fossils, yet the book was still amazing
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2011
Verified Purchase
"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!
14 people found this helpful
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She Treads Softly
4.0 out of 5 stars two remarkable women
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2012
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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.
5 people found this helpful
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Stephanie Boyles
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible story!
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2023
Verified Purchase
I loved the factual history and the delightful characters. Ms Chevalier has such a way with descriptive words, you felt that you were on the southern shores with Elizabeth and Mary.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars So glad I read it.
Reviewed in India on November 17, 2020
Verified Purchase
What a fine book! Brought a whole new perspective to how we view our past.
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A. Guicciardi
5.0 out of 5 stars Scienza, storia e costume in questo nuovo bellissimo libro di Tracy Chevalier.
Reviewed in Italy on March 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
Tra un Chevalier non delude mai. La sua serietà di ricercatrice e di scrittrice ancora una volta regalano una storia avvincente assolutamente documentata. Confesso che prima di leggerlo non sapevo niente sulla Jurassic Coast e sulla scoperta e ricerca dei fossili in Cornovaglia. Dopo la lettura ho proseguito le mie ricerche personali.Anche la vicenda umana delle due protagoniste è bella e raccontata con grande passione. da leggere.
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htk
5.0 out of 5 stars 化石の発掘に女性の果たした役割
Reviewed in Japan on December 10, 2022
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地学や進化論に恐竜の化石の発見は大きな貢献をしたが、そこには女性の貢献もあった。しかし、19世紀のイギリスの男社会の中ではご多分に漏れず無視される。主人公は赤ちゃんの時に雷に打たれて助かった労働者階級のMary Anningで、借金を残して死んだ父親が近所の海岸の崖から化石を掘り出してわずかな金を得ていた後を継ぎ、家族と共に「化石発掘業」を細々と続けている。もう一人は、中産階級だが結婚できる持参金も美しさもないため、化石に情熱を注いでいるElizabeth Philpotで、この二人は化石の埋蔵現場で会うことになる。メアリーは未発見の珍しい化石を見つけ、それが収集家や研究者の目に留まるが、彼らは彼女の発見や助力を金で買って功績を横取りしたり無視したり、あるいは彼女のやさしさにつけ込んで無料で巻きあげる。Elizabethは若いMaryに嫉妬もするが、それを乗り越えて、インチキ化石を作成したと非難されて苦境に陥るメアリーを助けようとする。史実を土台にした歴史小説のジャンルに入ると思うが、近年、有名な学者や芸術家による女性の仕事の搾取・横取りが題材にされることがままあり、これもその一つの例とも言えるだろう。だからといってこの本の価値が下がることはない。筆者が膨大の研究を行ったことも明らかで、これらの化石が科学の発展に与えた影響も念頭に一読をお勧めしたい。
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Linda M.K.
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly amazing book.
Reviewed in Australia on September 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
A very well written and interesting story of Mary Anning.. a rather forgotten hero in history.
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Raquel Rezende Quilião
5.0 out of 5 stars muito orgulho e preconceito
Reviewed in Brazil on February 24, 2015
Verified Purchase
Gosto muito de Tracy Chevalier. São livros sobre mulheres, mas não "mulherzinha". Suponho que sejam romances históricos, com protagonistas as voltas com ambientes opressivos e paixões inescapáveis.
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