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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “A remarkable story about a remarkable woman, Mary Anning, a 19th C. hunter of fossils upon the English coast, whose forcefulness of nature and scientific study sets the world of natural history upside down with her discoveries of extinct creatures. Anning's fossils set the worlds's stage for...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Told in alternative voices of Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning, the Philpot sisters have moved from London to Lyme Regis because their only brother is getting married and moving into the London family home. The four sisters are spinsters, and boy is Elizabeth obsessed with the fact that they...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“A great read, very hard to put down.”
Eileen M wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very interesting story based on factual events in the 1700's.”
Judy A wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Fantastic. I didn't realize it was based on real events until I was almost at the end, and flipped to the back to see if there was an afterward. Chevalier never ceases to impress me, and I'm one of her dedicated readers.”
Melissa Kristine N wrote this review Saturday, March 23, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Told in alternative voices of Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning, the Philpot sisters have moved from London to Lyme Regis because their only brother is getting married and moving into the London family home. The four sisters are spinsters, and boy is Elizabeth obsessed with the fact that they are spinsters, and feel akward in the new community. Elizabeth befriends young Mary, who was struck by lightning as a baby and has a penchant for finding fossils. When Mary finds an unusual fossil, the unlikely duo is pitted against the conservative religious community of Lyme Regis. Did I mention Elizabeth is a spinster?
Regina L wrote this review Tuesday, February 12, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I have seen this book reviewed and I know I'm in the minority. I never really had an interest in reading the book because I'm just not all that interested in fossils, but I do enjoy history, I needed an audio book, and this was the only one at the library that was recognizable. so, I took a chance. Maybe I would have enjoyed it better if I had actually read it. Maybe I would have enjoyed it if it had been strictly from Mary's perspective because she is truly a fascinating character. But, Elizabeth was the most irritating character I've come across in quite some time. Not only is she obsessed with the fact she and her sisters are spinsters (I did tell you they were spinsters, right?) but also with features a person "leads" with. This person leads with her eyes, that person leads with her brow, this person leads with her jaw, that person leads with her hands. Oh, and Elizabeth and her sisters are spinsters, did I tell you that?
The best part of the book was the author's note at the end. It provides some very interesting details of the historical characters and the fossils that Mary discovered. But, I just couldn't get past my irritation with the spinster Elizabeth (you do know by now she is a spinster, right?) Too bad she didn't live in a time with E-Harmony.”
“Great historical fiction”
Nothing else matters wrote this review Saturday, February 9, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This was a nice follow-up after I read Dragon in the Rocks, a children's book about Mary Anning. 'So interesting to learn about women of that era and what they had to go through for recognition of their accomplishments.
Laurie Steele Eddings wrote this review Saturday, February 2, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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“Mozda se nekome nece svidjeti to neprestano traganje za kamencicima, ali knjiga je prelijepa,,,”
ceca wrote this review Friday, February 1, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Are there any Irish books which are somewhat positive?”
Todd Price wrote this review Thursday, January 24, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is a charming historical novel about two remarkable women of contrasting backgrounds and occasionally conflicting personalities but who are united in their fascination â to and beyond the point of devotion - with fossils in early 19th century Lyme Regis. Their struggles against a male-dominated world, a religious othodoxy that couldn't contemplate the notion of extinction in the animal world and the rigid class barriers of their time are all beautifully woven into a narrative that lets their characters breath and develop through the pages. It weakness - and this is a quibble - is one that the author acknowledges in the postscript: you do not always keep hold of a sense of time as years occasionally seem to pass very quickly.”
David Worsfold wrote this review Tuesday, January 22, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Liked it much more than I expected to, given my disinterest in Victorian times. Author brought the two main characters to life for me, something that didn't happen with many of her other books. Mary got a little too polished by the end though.”
Judy S wrote this review Sunday, January 20, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
