LibGuides: Dare County Library Book Club Information and Resource Center: Remarkable Creatures

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

In 1810, a sister and brother uncover the fossilized skull of an unknown animal in the cliffs on the south coast of England. With its long snout and prominent teeth, it might be a crocodile – except that it has a huge, bulbous eye.

Remarkable Creatures is the story of Mary Anning, who has a talent for finding fossils, and whose discovery of ancient marine reptiles such as that ichthyosaur shakes the scientific community and leads to new ways of thinking about the creation of the world.

Working in an arena dominated by middle-class men, however, Mary finds herself out of step with her working-class background. In danger of being an outcast in her community, she takes solace in an unlikely friendship with Elizabeth Philpot, a prickly London spinster with her own passion for fossils.

The strong bond between Mary and Elizabeth sees them through struggles with poverty, rivalry and ostracism, as well as the physical dangers of their chosen obsession. It reminds us that friendship can outlast storms and landslides, anger and and jealousy.

Author's Inspiration for 'Remarkable Creatures'
A few years ago I went with my son to a small dinosaur museum in Dorchester, on the south coast of England. Among the usual displays, there was a wall devoted to Mary Anning, who lived in the early 19th century in the nearby town of Lyme Regis, where fossils are abundant. The display showed a sketch of Mary on the beach, holding a hammer and wearing a top hat to protect her from falling rocks. At age 12 she discovered the first complete specimen of an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile about 200 million years old (illustration below).

I was interested that, though female and working class, Mary managed to work with the middle class male scientists of the day. She was prickly and independent and eccentric. Plus, she was struck by lightning as a baby and survived. Discovering her felt like my own jolt of lightning, and I knew I had to write about her.
Author Resources: Background for 'Remarkable Creatures'
Author Resources: Fossil Gallery for 'Remarkable Creatures'

Discussion Questions

The first sentence of the novel is, “Lightning has struck me all my life.” What did you expect after reading that? What does Mary mean?
What attracts Mary to fossil hunting? How is it different from Elizabeth’s motivation?
How would you characterize the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth—mother/daughter, sisters, or something else?
On page 39 Elizabeth says, “After little more than a year in Lyme I’d come to appreciate the freedom a spinster with no male relatives about could have there.” Why is that? What did “freedom” mean for a woman of the time? Who had more freedom—Elizabeth or Mary?
What role does religion play in Elizabeth’s life? In Mary’s?
How does the notion of “God’s intention” affect their fossil-hunting?
Why do you think that in the novel, the women are fossil hunters, while the men are fossil collectors? What point is Chevalier trying to make?
At different points in the novel, both Mary and Elizabeth have reason to think that they, themselves, might become fossils. What did each woman mean by that?
How does Colonel Birch come between the two women? What are his motives? In the end, do you consider him a decent man?
After Birch’s auction, on page 203, Elizabeth cries, “Not for Mary, but for myself.” Why?
Which woman needs the other more? Why?
Why does Elizabeth go to London? What does she hope to achieve?
Regarding her time on the Unity, Elizabeth says, “I did not expect it, but I had never been so happy.” (page 250) Why does she feel that way?
After Mary agrees to sell a specimen to Cuvier, Mam accuses her of becoming a collector, no longer a hunter. What does she mean by that? Is she right?
Upon Elizabeth’s return from London, Mary says she “was like a fossil that’s been cleaned and set so everyone can see what it is.” (page 298) What happened to change her?
What was your response to the ending?
Have you read any of Tracy Chevalier’s other novels? What similarities and differences do you see?

From Publisher's Website