I just finished reading the latest book by the author of The Girl With One Pearl Earring (one of my favorite books even though NOTHING happens!). Remarkable Creatures is about Mary Anning, the woman who discovered the first dinosaur fossil in England in the early 1800s, creating a major impact in the areas of science and religion. Because she is a woman and a member of the working class she is not initially given recognition for her discovery. Lord Henley, the local gentry who buys Mary's "crocodile", actually says, "Mary Anning is a worker...a female. She is a spare part." when confronted about taking credit for her discovery. Hard for us to understand today, but at that time women truly were treated as second-class citizens.
One of the things that I really liked about this book, was the different "voices" that Chevalier uses for the two women, Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpott. Because she uses different conversational styles and word choices based on their social and educational backgrounds, the reader never has any difficulty knowing which of the women is telling each part of the story.
Chevalier is a master of creating stories around historical information (see also The Lady and the Unicorn, another great book). She brings her characters to life and, at the same time, shares information that you didn't learn in school.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment