I am not familiar with Tracy Chevalier's other novels, but I do know that she is an accomplished author of Historical Fiction. I was attracted to this book because of the characters she brought back to life and my own interest in prehistoric fossils. As a kid I loved dinosaurs, and I knew more about them than any of my classmates. I still love watching some of the Discovery channel shows like Walking with Dinosaurs, but I never really appreciated the amount of work, religious reconciling, and male chauvinism that went into discovering and describing creatures that are just taken for granted today.
With Remarkable Creatures, Chevalier brings readers back to the early 1800s where the scientific search for dinosaur fossils is just beginning to take off. Did God create the world in six days? If he did, how could there be giant monsters hidden in the cliffs of Lyme in England? While the scientific community is preparing papers on dinosaurs and how they fit into an understanding of the world, Mary Anning, a poor local fossil hunter, is out on the beach day after day hunting for specimens that she will never be recognized for. Chevalier brings to the front Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning's contributions to the history of the natural world. It is certainly a remarkable tale of two women who struggled with society's ideas of what women should do, and ultimately decided they didn't really care what anyone thought of them.
This book is a quick, easy, enjoyable read. The chapters alternate between Elizabeth Philpot's perspective and Mary Anning's. Chevalier uses vernacular and language to give readers different impressions of each woman's level of education and status in society. Even with Elizabeth's elevated status, she and Mary become fast friends, and go through the trials and successes of true friendship. I was skeptical at first about a book where the two main characters are both spinster women, because I have read too many that want to claim sexual relationships between the women, but I was extremely impressed that Chevalier managed to steer clear of that hazard and still bring in some elements of romance, based on rumors between Mary and some of the men she hunted fossils for.
If you are looking for a good vacation book I would easily recommend this book because of its engaging style, fast pace, and unusual subject matter. Of course I'd recommend this book to any casual reader not intending to go on a vacation imminently, but I felt that this was a good book for any potentially long journey (plane, train, or car) because the narrative draws the reader in and delivers a satisfying story without being having to remember too many plot points, character names, or the need to look for the next book in a series.
