Remarkable Creatures

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I wish I had read this book, or learned something about Mary Anning, before I went to London. I saw her picture and the fossils she discovered at the Natural History Museum in London without ever realizing what a remarkable accomplishment it was. She was a poor, uneducated, working class girl whose family survived by selling "curies" (curiosities), small fossils found on the beach in Lyme Regis. She finds what she considers crocodiles with fins, but are really the first pterodactyl and ichthyosaurus discovered. If these had been uncovered by an educated or upper class man, he would have enjoyed fame and fortune. But, unmarried women in the early 1800s had little voice and no respect.

Elizabeth realizes she has a passion for fossil hunting, and as she and her sisters settle into their new home, she spends much of her time on the beach looking for unusual specimens. It is here that she meets Mary, who has been an avid fossil hunter all her life, and from then on the two meet frequently to search together. They are often seen walking along the beach with their eyes down, oblivious to all else.So, you cannot blame “the guy” for escaping from his tank, overnight when something “tastier” is within reach. The other night we watched Ammonite which I understood to be the film of the book. I thought it was a travesty of both the book and of Mary Anning’s life. I now know that it’s not based on the book which is a relief but also sad because it’s unlikely that a movie will be made of the book. GR user Hellie writes in her review that "maybe inventing new characters rather than shoehorning some real life people into it would have worked better". I agree.

Cameron's character was just the regular annoying, whiny kind of loser who blames everybody else for his "hard" life. We are constantly reminded how smart he is and yet the only way his smarts present themselves is through some random trivia. A 30 year old man who was raised by an aunt who made sure he had a roof over his head, rather than just being thrown into the system, who still blames his mother for all of his life choices and mistakes, is not someone I can feel sorry for. Grow up and get your act together ffs. The book is not just an intresting feature about the ideas about the world's creation and our origins in that time, but it is about friendship between two very diffrent women and how they fight for recognition in a scientific world, dominated by men. Apart from that, if anybody is intrested in fossils and geology, this is a nice way to start. Chevalier’s signature talent lies in bringing alive the ordinary day-to-dayness of the past…lovingly evoked.” This is not a fast-moving story. The pace of the narrative mirrors the pace of life of the women in this time. You really get a feeling of their situation and their place in society and all the challenges. I loved the prose. It was so strong and steady. It never wavers. It invites you to keep reading and reading and following these women. The main narrator of the story, Elizabeth Philpot, is someone I would want to know. I found her so likable. And I also loved Mary and had a great deal of sympathy for her as well. Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, will be published by Ecco/HarperCollins (US) and Bloomsbury (UK) in Spring 2022.There are worse fates.I was mildly irked by one plotline that seemed like a modern imposition on Regency society (and there's nothing in actual history to support this part of the story): Mary and Elizabeth both fall for the same older guy. Mary hopes that he'll ask her to marry him, but eventually realizes that's simply not going to happen. After she figures that out, she decides to sleep with him just one time, just for the experience of having sex, because she's realized she's not likely to ever marry him or anyone else. It just seemed like late 20th century kind of thinking to me. If she'd slept with the guy hoping to get him to marry her, that would have made more sense for those times. Plus the guy is kind of a cad, but that's a whole 'nother story. Because the Octopus is a “remarkably, bright creature”-a bond is formed, but unfortunately, Tova is injured while helping the 60 pound Cephalopoda. Remarkable Creatures is a beautifully written book about two remarkable women, Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot. A fictional account based on real-life characters and events, Remarkable Creatures is set in the early 1800’s in the coastal town of Lyme Regis, England. Poor, uneducated Mary Anning and middle-class, London-bred Elizabeth Philpot form what is considered an unconventional friendship, due to their differing social classes, based on their love of fossils and fossil hunting. Despite my extremely limited knowledge in the fields of geology and paleontology, I found this book fascinating. Marcellus IS the star in the way that a “supporting actor” often steals the show! He is the thread that binds the three narratives together despite having the fewest chapters.