Remarkable Creatures: Author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, the 5 million copy bestseller

‘It is a stunning story, compassionately reimagined’ Guardian Tracy Chevalier’s stunning novel of how one woman’s gift transcends class and gender to lead to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century. A revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship. In the early nineteenth century, a windswept beach along the English coast brims with fossils for those with the eye… From the moment she’s struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear Mary Anning is marked for greatness. When she uncovers unknown dinosaur fossils in the cliffs near her home, she sets the scientific world alight, challenging ideas about the world’s creation and stimulating debate over our origins. In an arena dominated by men, however, Mary is soon reduced to a serving role, facing prejudice from the academic community, vicious gossip from neighbours, and the heartbreak of forbidden love. Even nature is a threat, throwing bitter cold, storms, and landslips at her. Luckily Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly, intelligent Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster who is also fossil-obsessed. Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty and barely suppressed envy. Despite their differences in age and background, Mary and Elizabeth discover that, in struggling for recognition, friendship is their strongest weapon. In Remarkable Creatures, a Sunday Times bestselling book, Tracy Chevalier, the bestselling author, explores the intricate dynamics of female friendship and the resilience of women in a male-dominated society. Set against the backdrop of the sea, this historical fiction is a compelling read that challenges societal norms and stimulates intellectual debate. For fans of Maggie O'Farrell (Hamnet), Kate Atkinson (Normal Rules Don't Apply), Rose Tremain (Absolutely and Forever), Stacey Halls (The Familiars), and Victoria Hislop (One August Night).