Girl with a Pearl Earring made Tracy Chevalier a household name in the historical fiction world. And now, with the dazzling Remarkable Creatures, Chevalier gives us another intriguing celebration of women and friendship. Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster, has just moved to Lyme Regis, a town on the southern coast of England, with her sisters. She falls in love with scouring the beaches for fossils, and meets a young girl and fellow fossil-hunter, Mary Anning. As Mary grows up and the two follow their shared passion, they find themselves making discoveries that cause a stir in the scientific community and hold implications for science and religion that they could never have foreseen. The novel weaves together many fascinating elements, not the least of which are the fossils themselves. Chevalier captures their beauty and mystery perfectly and allows readers to feel her subjects' obsession with them. As Mary and Elizabeth diligently and excitedly uncover these messages from another era, the reader sees how little was initially known about fossils and how they affected the way we view the world. Of course, the fossils are not the only stars of the novel—Mary and Elizabeth, based on real historical figures, will fascinate readers as well. At age 11, the real-life Mary Anning discovered the first ichthyosaurus skeleton ever found. Despite little education and even smaller means, she somehow managed to engage middle-class men of science in her pursuit of fossils and helped pave the way for Darwin's evolutionary theory. Less is known about the real Elizabeth Philpot, only that she was an avid collector of fossil fish—one species is even named after her—and, given their differences in age and class, a somewhat unlikely friend of Mary's. But Chevalier brings her to life. Both women will enthrall readers with their aspirations, fears and obstacles and, above all, their admirable determination. The story unfolds gracefully and will keep you eagerly turning pages until the novel's close. There's humor, romance and a down-to-earth kind of suspense. But most of all, there are the believable and well-crafted personal triumphs and tragedies of two women who defied convention and changed their corner of the world. Indeed, Mary and Elizabeth are remarkable creatures.  Jessica Inman writes and edits in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 

Our top selections for November include a memorable debut from a Southern storyteller, the latest from Malcolm Gladwell and a historical fiction jem.

SOUTHERN COMFORT

Beth Hoffman’s delightful debut novel, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, is a sweet Southern tale with an unforgettable heroine at its center. Set in 1967, the book skillfully depicts the social dynamics of a South that’s still coming of age. After her high-strung mother—a former beauty queen named Camille—is killed by an ice cream truck, 12-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt leaves her home in Ohio to live with her great aunt, Tootie, in Savannah, Georgia. CeeCee soon finds herself surrounded by a group of surrogate mothers, all of whom teach her different lessons about life. She bonds quickly with the smart, insightful Oletta, Tootie’s black housekeeper. Tootie’s friend Violene, a racist, thrives on gossip, while Thelma Rae, another member of Tootie’s crowd, proves deceitful. Life among these vivacious women, as CeeCee quickly learns, is never dull. With its vividly drawn characters and old-fashioned charm, Hoffman’s novel will appeal to fans of Fannie Flagg and Sue Monk Kidd. Her portrayal of a still-evolving South is richly detailed and wonderfully authentic. Click here for a reading guide.

TOP OF THE HEAP

In Outliers: The Story of Success, best-selling writer Malcolm Gladwell examines the secrets of modern-day success, questioning typical assumptions about business moguls, athletic stars and others who achieve peak performance. What do they have that the rest of us don’t? Gladwell looks at examples from history and pop culture—the Beatles, Mozart and Bill Gates—and asserts that singular talent and personal skill don’t necessarily ensure success. Factors like opportunity, timing and luck also play important roles in the ascent of a star. Gladwell’s remarkable ability to synthesize diverse material, his talent for presenting historical anecdotes and his knack for unearthing little-known nuggets of trivia make this a wonderfully readable book. In this in-depth look at the mystery that enshrines success, he draws important conclusions about human nature, the motivations that drive us and the power of ambition. A staff writer at The New Yorker and author of The Tipping Point, Gladwell proves yet again that he’s a master of probing, investigative nonfiction. Discussion questions can be found here.

TOP PICK FOR BOOK CLUBS

Set during the 19th century and rooted in fact, Tracy Chevalier’s sharply crafted novel Remarkable Creatures tells the story of two inspiring women who take on the scientific establishment at a time when females had no place there. Poor and uneducated, young Mary Anning has a keen mind and an observant eye. During her rambles along England’s Lyme Regis coast, she picks out unusual specimens among the rocks—fossils, as it turns out, that change the course of science. Initially met with skepticism by the pre-eminent scientific minds of her day, Mary finds a friend in Elizabeth Philpot, an independent spinster with a thirst for knowledge. Chevalier creates a vivid portrait of intellectual inquiry in the 1800s while spinning a thrilling tale of two unlikely heroines whose contributions to science and history are immeasurable. This winning book is a fascinating exploration of gender, history and female friendship. Click here for discussion questions.

Copyright 2010 BookPage Reviews.

In early 1800s England, unmarried women of the upper classes were often relegated to the fringes of society, where they could find a polite way to spend their days; those of the lower classes had even fewer options. This work, based on a true story, portrays two women from these diverse backgrounds who share a fascination with fossils. Mary Anning is an impoverished girl with a gift for finding prehistoric skeletons along the coast, which also interest genteel spinster Elizabeth Philpot. She recognizes Mary's talent as she also understands the enormous implications of the specimens uncovered, for this was before Darwin, when the concept of extinction was unknown, and it was blasphemous to consider that some of God's creatures may have been flawed. Over time, both women strive for scientific credibility, love, and financial stability, with varying degrees of success. VERDICT Superbly creating a unique setting, as she did in The Girl with a Pearl Earring, Chevalier captures the atmosphere of a chilly, blustery coast and an oppressive social hierarchy in real Dickensian fashion. Readers of historical fiction will enjoy this fascinating tale of rustic paleontology. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/09.]—Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty.

Chevalier's newest is a flat historical whose familiar themes of gender inequality, class warfare and social power often overwhelm the story. Tart-tongued spinster Elizabeth Philpot meets young Mary Anning after moving from London to the coastal town of Lyme Regis. The two quickly form an unlikely friendship based on their mutual interest in finding fossils, which provides the central narrative as working-class Mary emerges from childhood to become a famous fossil hunter, with her friend and protector Elizabeth to defend her against the men who try to take credit for Mary's finds. Their friendship, however, is tested when Colonel Birch comes to Lyme to ask for Mary's help in hunting fossils and the two spinsters compete for his attention. While Chevalier's exploration of the plight of Victorian-era women is admirable, Elizabeth's fixation on her status as an unmarried woman living in a gossipy small town becomes monotonous, and Chevalier slows the story by dryly explaining the relative importance of different fossils. Chevalier's attempt to imagine the lives of these real historical figures makes them seem less remarkable than they are. (Jan.)