Remarkable Creatures

Remarkable Creatures (2009), a novel by Tracy Chevalier, is historical fiction that explores the unlikely friendship between Mary Anning, a working-class woman with a passion for fossil hunting, and Elizabeth Philpot, an unmarried middle-class woman. The novel is set against the backdrop of the rigid societal conventions of 19th-century England. When Mary uncovers a prehistoric fossil on the cliffs of Lyme Regis, her discovery ignites enthusiasm in the scientific community and threatens her village’s deeply entrenched Biblical worldview. However, Mary and Elizabeth refuse to be bound by society’s expectations and go on to reshape the study of paleontology. Chevalier is best known for her award-winning 1999 novel Girl With a Pearl Earring, which was adapted into a film in 2003. In 2008, Chevalier was inducted as a fellow into the Royal Society of Literature, and in 2013, she received the Ohioana Book Award for The Last Runaway.

This guide uses the Penguin Random House 2009 eBook edition of Remarkable Creatures.

Plot Summary

Elizabeth Philpot lives in London with her brother, John, and her sisters. After John marries, per tradition, his wife becomes the lady of the household, and Elizabeth and her two unmarried sisters, Louise and Margaret, must find a new home.