It is here that she meets Mary, who has been an avid fossil hunter all her life, and from then on the two meet frequently to search together. After taking a tour of the region, they decide they like the small seaside town of Lyme Regis, which is known for its fossils.Įlizabeth realizes she has a passion for fossil hunting, and as she and her sisters settle into their new home, she spends much of her time on the beach looking for unusual specimens. Elizabeth and her two sisters must leave their childhood home, now that their brother is getting married, and are searching for prospective places to move. After the lightning storm, the narrative skips ahead several years and switches to Elizabeth’s point of view. She claims that the lightning affects her personality, making her more lively and healthy, and also insinuates that a more profound change has taken place within her as well. Lightning strikes the tree, killing the other three women, but Mary survives and is profoundly changed.

Mary, a woman she does not know, and two other girls retreat under a tree for shelter. Though she was very young at the time and it is one of her earliest memories, Mary tells the story of how a storm rolled in while she was watching a horse show. She says that she has been struck many times during her life, but only once literally. Remarkable Creatures opens with Mary relating a childhood story of being struck by lightning. While both women were knowledgeable fossil hunters and skilled at identifying ancient species, the real-life Mary was a pioneering figure in the world of paleontology, and the book recounts two of her most amazing finds. It tells the story of two real historical figures from the 19th century: Mary Annig, and her friend Elizabeth Philpot.

Remarkable Creatures is a historical novel by Tracy Chevalier, published in 2010.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier