Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Another Great Book From the Author of Girl With the Pearl Earring
In Remarkable Creatures , Tracy Chevalier tells the story of Mary Anning who lived in the 1800s and was an extraordinary fossil hunter. Although this is a fictionalised account of the life of an actual person, it is a highly convincing portrait set in the historical English seaside town of Lyme Regis.
The subtleties of class and culture are exquisitely captured in the language and the descriptions. This is somewhat surprising given that Tracy Chevalier is an American, although she has lived in Britain since 1982.
Remarkable Creatures
The remarkable creatures of the title could be said to be the fossils that are discovered on the beaches of Lyme Regis. However, the women featured in the book are just as remarkable and an inspirational tale of female friendship runs alongside the main theme of the book.
Like the women written about in The Birth House by Ami McKay, these females faced the discrimination of a sexist society. Most employed women in Britain in the 1800s were domestic servants. Men considered them inferior in intellect and discouraged any sort of higher learning.
Consequently, women were under a great deal of pressure to marry. If a woman had not “found” a husband before she turned 25, the chances of her becoming an “old maid” were very high. Remarkable Creatures gives a glimpse into the pain of spinsterhood for working class Mary Anning as well as the 3 upper class sisters she befriends.
Mary Anning Fossil Hunter
Historically, Mary Anning was born into a very poor family and her “curies” or curiosities found on the Lyme Regis beach were sold to tourists to bring in a few extra pennies. Mary, it seems, was gifted with an eye for finding the unusual and at the age of 12 she found the first complete fossilised skeleton of an ichthyosaur.
Ichthyosaur Dinosaur Fossils
Although dinosaurs are familiar to most school children now, in the 1800s only small parts, such as teeth and vertebrae of an ichthyosaur had been seen. Mary and others believed the complete fossil to be that of a crocodile. The idea of a creature that had lived and was now extinct was unheard of in those times. It was believed that fossils were the remains of creatures that lived elsewhere, perhaps in the depths of the ocean. One of Mary Anning’s key contributions with her dinosaur fossils was the evidence they gave to the theory of extinction.
Plesiosaur Fossil Found At Lyme Regis
Mary Anning’s most important discovery in Lyme Regis was a fossil that had never been seen before. At the age of 21 she found the first complete plesiosaur fossil. In Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier describes Mary’s frustration with the male palaeontologists of the day. Despite her discovery they had a dismissive attitude towards a mere girl from such a humble background.
Nevertheless, Mary supported her family by working as a fossil hunter and eventually become a recognised and celebrated specialist. Remarkable Creatures portrays a society bound by class, sexism and religious ideology. Tracy Chevalier has created a story that touches the heart of the reader as well as providing information which enchants the mind. She writes with the elegance and ease shown in Girl with the Pearl Earring drawing the reader into her world and its characters.
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Published by HarperCollins 2009
ISBN 978-0-00-717837-7
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
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Mary Anning's Drawing of a Dinosaur Fossil
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