Tracy Chevalier who wrote the popular novel, "Girl With a Pearl Earing'" has chosen another fascinating topic to fashion a novel around. The novel takes place in Lyme Regis on the coast of England, renowned for its chalky cliffs and plethora of fossils. England is in the midst of war (the war of 1812 with America and the Napoleonic Wars). But war is hardly mentioned in this book, and one has the feeling that it doesn't much affect this little scientific outpost.
The story is narrated by two women who form an unlikely friendship based on their love of fossils and science, a field not open to women at the time. The first narrator is Elizabeth Philpot an older spinster who has moved to Lyme Regis with her two sisters to live more economically after her father's death. Elizabeth was a real person who in her day became known and respected for her knowledge of fish fossils. The other voice belongs to MaryAnning, again a real person, who is still known as the greatest fossil finder ever. We meet Mary as a poverty stricken young girl. In real life, as in the book, her father was a cabinet maker who dies early on, leaving the family to make a living through selling fossils to tourists and rich hobbiests. There is a true story related in the book about the ubiquitous Jane Austin approaching Mr. Anning to purchase a cabinet. She never did business with him because she thought his prices were too high (as she wrote to a sister).
Chevalier does a terrific job of weaving her real characters into a story that is entirely believable. Several well-known scientists of the day also make an appearance in Mary's story. In fact these several male scientists made their names in scientific circles by buying Mary's finds without much recognition given to her either for her discoveries or for her talent for cleaning and restoring the fossils which were prominently displayed in London museums. Scientists who mattered respected Mary including the most famous of his day, the French scientist, Cuvier. Another aside, though it doesn't appear in the book, is that the tongue-twister, "she sells sea shells by the sea shore," was penned when Mary became well known.
Mary called her finds, "curies" and one day in 1811, she made one of the biggest finds of her life, an intact fossil of an ichthyosaurs which she first assumed was a crocodile. This find cause great consternation and controversy not only in the field of science, but also in theological circles. The great debate centered on how one of God's creatures could have become extinct. Neither science nor theology allowed for the idea that unknown creatures could have inhabited the earth in the past. Mary made further discoveries, a plesiosaurus in 1823 and a pterodactyl in 1828. By this time she had made a name for herself and was foremost in her field.
Chevalier weaves a very nice story around the discoveries, a story of friendship, loss, love, poverty and grudging respect. She makes fossil hunting exciting and real though human relationships. Her characters are real, interesting and altogether human in their triumphs and follies. I highly recommend this book for all who are interested not just in fossils but in relationships and two women who fought against the custom of the day. In the end, we might never have known about Mary Anning if it weren't for Elizabeth Philpot who was determined to bring the truth to light.
No comments:
Post a Comment