Date: 22 March 2015
Location: Pat & Carol
It was another drizzly evening as we met to discuss our latest reading, but this was more than offset by the warm camaraderie of friends and the hospitality of our hosts. The book this month was Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. This is a fictional rendition of the activities of two real-life women who made important archaeological discoveries in the Lime Regis area of Great Britain. Just to add a little variety to our discussion, Claudia managed to read a different Remarkable Creatures by Sean Carroll. This is a non-fiction book describing some of the pioneers of paleontology and evolutionary biology; so she was sort of in the same general scientific field.
The Happy Bookers had previously read Tracy Chevalier’s historical novel Girl with a Pearl Earring featuring the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Remarkable Creatures is another of her works of fiction featuring actual historical figures. In this case the story told of the lives and friendships of two early 19th century British women, Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot. I don’t believe any of the Bookers had ever heard of these two women before reading the book, and thus the story of their work and accomplishments was enlightening to us all.
In summary, Mary Anning was a poor and uneducated girl who, over a number of years, made a number of important fossil discoveries along the south coast of England. Her major discoveries included several fine ichthyosaur skeletons and the first plesiosaur skeleton. However, because of her low social status and lack of education, her discoveries were initially ignored or claimed by others or even declared to be fakes.
Elizabeth Philpot was an educated gentlewoman who befriended Mary, and who also developed a fine reputation as an authority on fossil fishes. She saw the ability and tenacity of Mary and eventually helped get Mary some of the recognition that she deserved.
Chevalier freely admits that her depiction of the personal interactions of the two women, including their shared love interest, their falling out and eventual reconciliation, were pure fiction. However the women’s discoveries and accomplishments were real and important. Nearly a half century before Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, the work of the women, especially Mary, laid some of the groundwork in proving that species did go extinct and that the earth was much older than 6000 years. I think we all enjoyed the book and agreed that Chevalier has a knack for telling a good story. The realization that the major achievements of the book were actually true added an extra bonus to our enjoyment.
— Bob