Lightning Mary

by Anthea Simmons

Winner of the middle grade STEAM Book Prize

Ordinary is what most people are and I am not. I am not ordinary at all. I am a scientist.

One stormy night, a group of villagers are struck by lightning. The only survivor is a baby - Mary Anning. From that moment on, a spark is lit within her.
Growing up poor but proud on the windswept Dorset coast, Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils uncovered by waves and ancient creatures, turned to stone. Ignoring other people's taunts, Mary faces danger to bring back valuable treasures to help feed her family. But tragedy and despair is never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. What will happen when she makes her greatest discovery of all...?

With a factual section about Mary Anning, her life, and the discoveries she made.

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Dinosaurs, Young Adult, Fiction

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2019

Reviews

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fictionalised account of the life of Mary Anning, an early 19th century paleontologist. The novel covers Anning's childhood, and ends when she is twelve. Anning is from a poor family: her father is a cabinet-maker who goes fossil hunting in his spare time, and they often struggle to have enough to eat. Anning learns to find and extract fossils with the help of her father, but she quickly surpasses him, due to her tenacity and passion. Through the novel, we get a vivid portrait of Anning as she determinedly sets out to the treacherous cliffs to hunt for fossils. Not only are the cliffs hostile and dangerous, but the world itself is hostile to poor girls like Anning, and to science itself. Anning was living at a time when most people took the Bible literally, and to suggest that fossils could be the remains of animals now extinct was to go against God's teachings. Anning is afraid to admit that she's a scientist, and her wish to study geology by fossil-hunting on the cliffs is considered a strange and unsuitable hobby for a girl. But fossil-hunting brings money to the family, as fossils can be sold to wealthy tourists, and as the Anning family suffer a huge number of hardships, they are forced to rely on Mary Anning's contributions.

Told in the first person, the voice Anthea Simmons creates for Anning brings this story to life. It can be difficult to make a novel about a historical character really feel fresh, as there is the danger of getting trapped in teaching facts to the reader. The majority of the time, Simmons escapes this problem. The dangers and problems Anning faces feel immediate and tangible. Her lively conversations with her friends, and the descriptions of dangerous hunts on the cliffs, grab the reader's attention. My only caveat is that I felt Mary Anning was too feisty and too rebellious: while Anning must have had a strong spirit and a lot of willpower in order not only to find fossils, but to become renowned in a field where she was considered utterly alien, I felt that at times her feistiness was too much. Because she is shown as confident from the beginning, there is no real space for a character arc of her growing more confident with herself and her discoveries, and I also feel that there is room for quieter, more introspective characters in feminist novels.

That being said, this is a fascinating book, and anything that makes Mary Anning more celebrated and widely known is excellent. My edition also included a helpful glossary of fossils and a short biography of Anning.

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Ida Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that acknowledges that women, because of their gender and social standing as well as class, have not been getting the chances or the praise they deserve. I am all on board. This is absolutely true and I think it's wonderful that more and more female positive books are on the market that shed light on interesting and brilliant characters rather than making the protagonist ladies have typically male trades and call it an 'empowering masterpiece'. There is still a bit of that in here though. Mary is a boyish girl who refuses to play with dolls and goes on the hunt with her dad and refuses to make herself 'pretty'. Granted she is encourages to 'pretty herself' in order to attract male attention for a possible husband, but why not entertain the possibility that Mary could be fun and feminine and into frilly dresses and STILL be badass? In this case however I guess it is warranted as Mary is based on real life person Mary Anning and I guess she must have been similar in her likes and dislikes. Still, I don't think it will surprise anyone that Mary is a daddy's girl all the way and doesn't have the best relationship with her home-making and (reasonably) worried mother.

The book opens with an account of how Mary died. Or well, almost died. Most certainly should have died, because she was struck by lightning and well...the odds are not exactly in your favour when that happens. And given that Mary's family had already lost a previous daughter named Mary (a bit bizarre to name your next daughter after the diseased one, no?) one could almost say there was a bit of a bad streak here. Anyway, Mary was hit by a lightning which only almost killed her and ignited a fire in her- a fire she was determined to carry out into the world.

All of this is written in first narrator perspective (I). It was interesting because most of these kinds of books have a third narrator and therefore gives more of a description of what happens. With Mary we get her version. And somehow that's even more bold and empowering. After all, it's her story and women have not been able to tell their story for far too long. I don't know if that precisely was the author's thought process behind it, but I appreciate it regardless.

As a catholic theologian I took particular interest in the debate about religion and the church that you find throughout the book. Sola scripture seems to be the author's preferred way and it shows throughout the story. It wasn't discussed in a round way, but very flat which I thought was a bit of a shame. Yes an author is free to spread their own personal opinion, but I wasn't expecting an 'indoctrination' of that sort in a book that is advertised as a feminist fest of a book rather than a protestant/evangelical manifesto. I am exaggerating, of course- but the point still holds true.

I enjoyed the this book. It had me when it first mentioned Jane Austen. Lol. Apparently she was quite the bitch. I don't mind the author's liberty taken here. Thought it was amusing.

The story itself is a really important one and to shed light on female scientist and researchers throughout history in such a magnificent way can only be applauded.

3.5 stars

All thanks to Edelweiss for letting me have and review this copy.

[Nick Swarbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to define a woman as a scientist? This is the dilemma that underpins the frustrations of determined and prickly souvenir-maker and palaeontologist Mary Anning, whose young life in the hardships of C18th Dorset challenge her and the sympathies of those around her. Mary is not easily likeable - brusque, dismissive - but the author portrays her and her situation in such a way that we are drawn to stand alongside her, and see how people came to admire and love her. This is a neat trick by Simmons and allows the narrative to conclude on a downbeat that reflects Anning’s own frustrations and suggests how identities are formed but not always neatly resolved: no mean feat.

[Annika · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting (and partly fictional) account of the life of Mary Anning and, most incredibly, the fossils and plesiosaur skeletons she discovered and excavated. What an underappreciated scientist she was and still is. I loved the feminist standpoint of this book (even though it also made me really angry). Also found it really cool to read about her discoveries shortly after having seen some of them with my own eyes in the Natural History Museum in London (which is where I got this book; because who doesn't love museum shops).

[Christina Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring and evocative look at the life of Mary Anning, a scientist whose work was often not appreciated or acknowledged during her life because of her gender and social status. In this book, Mary has a strong voice and a fierce determination to go her own way regardless of what people around her want her to do.
This is the perfect inttoduction to learning more about Mary and highlighting female scirntists.

[Marie Leverett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is aimed at 9-12 year olds so I'm giving it a 5 star based on that reading age. I read it with my daughter and thought it was an inspirational and fascinating read. Great way to learn about Mary Anning.

[Mr Bramley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sad but inspiring tale about the famous archaeologist, ‘Lighting’ Mary Anning.

I enjoyed the book as a whole. It was very slow to begging and I think the writing style itself was a little overly descriptive and dragged, but then again I also didn’t quite get on with Mary’s character so it may have simply been that which made it seem to drag.

I did enjoy once the action picked up however and I’m content and fulfilled with the ending. Learning about Mary’s life and passion was definitely worth the read.

The book is a good one for introducing the idea of prejudice and injustice towards the poor and women historically, and touches on a few important historical points that may be useful in a teaching setting.

The book also has a small section at the back which has illustrations and explanations of the fossils mentioned throughout the book which I enjoyed.

[Anthony Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the harsh, deadly coastal winters of 19th Century Lyme Regis, in England, Anthea Simmons’ gritty, compelling book about the real-life palaeontologist Mary Anning is as inspirational as it is educational.

I was lucky enough to grow up along the Jurassic coastline where this book is set, and one of the things I enjoyed most about the writing and Mary’s adventures around the sea-blighted landscape, was how well Simmons’ portrays the rough, torrid and difficult place this countryside is.

The story centres around Mary’s younger years, where she finds her passion for “fossicking”, or digging up dinosaurs as she will much later realise. She meets an inspirational, rich boy who does help hone her dreams about being scientist...but the forceful and forthright character of Mary herself does not need any persuasion or help from anyone.

It is a true story that Mary Anning was struck by lightning when she was a baby. He person holding her and two others died, but Mary survived. And, because of this “miracle”, the portrayal of Mary as an extraordinarily forceful and gifted woman seems to organically fit the flow of the story. There are real undertones of shining feminism in Mary’s struggles to be recognised as a scientist in her own right, amongst the “boys’ club” of a male-dominated world.

And, through great personal tragedies, and overwhelming poverty, Mary carries on with her discovery of a full-sized dinosaur skeleton. She manages to recruit her town to support her, and she becomes famous for being a revolutionary fossil hunter.

It’s a beautiful, heartfelt story that does inspire young people to consider science as a career (as a STEM-ette novel, this is partly its purpose), and underlines what an important part in the history of southwest England Mary Anning played.

[Rosie Sumner · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a Mary Anning enthusiast, it's nice to see such a prolific yet underrated paleontologist being introduced to young readers. Anning it is well known had a very tough, unsettled and often traumatic life. She faced much adversity during her lifetime and has only relatively recently been celebrated for her scientific contributions after her death. This book handled some difficult topics gracefully, however others a little too unseriously which I feel underestimates the sensitivity and emotional intelligence of younger readers. 

Unfortunately, I feel like the author falls into the common trap of trying to write an authentic nineteenth century and regional dialect that isn't well researched or accurate so just sounds oddly childish and just vaguely "old-timey". The mixture of modern and nineteenth century sounding slang feels jarring and doesn't mesh well. I feel as though the writing style undermines the audience's intelligence as a young readership. 

Even though I can understand that writing through a child's perspective and with a child's voice is difficult, here the writing style was a little cringeworthy and juvenile but not in a way that feels intended for younger readers but feels more immature and underdeveloped. 

I did enjoy it a little more as the narrative began to centre on Mary's discoveries. How Mary's grief and her many traumas may have affected her relationships were portrayed quite well towards the end. 

As Mary grows older we also see her grapple with becoming a young woman during an incredibly difficult time for women. However I do feel like the difficulties of Mary's other female counterparts were downplayed even though women of every social standing were no doubt discriminated against for being female. 

For example, the random Jane Austen slander that may or may not be historically accurate (Jane Austen's encounter with Richard Anning is pure speculation and the timeline of her trip to Lyme Regis doesn't quite add up), it feels not only misplaced in terms of historical accuracy but also doesn't fit the "feminist" ideology the book is trying to portray. Even though Jane Austen was considered of a higher social standing compared to Mary Anning and her family, Austen was a trailblazing female writer. Austen was highly critical of classism and many other societal conventions, she died in relative obscurity and poverty, never married and sustained herself through her work... much like Anning. The fact that one of Austen's most acclaimed works is titled 'Pride and Prejudice' should have been a huge giveaway. 

Another trap I feel like the author falls into is the stereotyping of the vaguely neurodivergent genius. Mary's eccentricity becomes shorthand for autistic. Mary is characterised by tropes borrowed from autistic characters in literature that are rooted in stereotypes and common misconceptions. As an autistic person I found Mary's characterisation quite offensive at times and often rather insulting. Her character is not particularly sympathetic or likeable. Even though Mary Anning was apparently known for her direct and at times blunt manner of speaking nowhere do we have any evidence to suggest she was rude or unlikable. We certainly don't have any evidence to suggest that Mary was autistic. Retrospective diagnosis and speculation about notable historical figures often does more harm for autistic people living today than good. 

Mary's characterisation was also a little contradictory. At once fiercely intelligent yet a little slow and scornful of "big words", her intelligence feels like a stereotypical estimate at a working class person's intellect. She doesn't come across as strong willed and steadfast but rather mean-spirited and spiteful, at times almost cruel. I feel like there should be more room for strong yet complex female characters in feminist fiction otherwise the intended message falls flat and instead relies far to much on ideas associated with "girlboss" feminism which lacks depth and nuance. The feminist values outlined in the book are shallow and outdated, which I found surprising for a book written in 2019. 

Certain points that try to be feminist are reiterated far too much and become quite tiresome and Mary's character feels less authentic and more like caricature. Overall, her character seems at odds with the Mary Anning we know, she feels so far from what little evidence we do have about her as a person based on contemporary letters and writings. 

Some other harmful biases are included which were perhaps intended to reflect the period but come across more problematic in a way that I feel could be read or interpreted as derogatory, especially by younger readers.

I really did appreciate the factual epilogue and summary of Mary's life and work. It was both interesting and saddening to learn about the real Mary Anning and how she was largely unrecognized for her contributions to paleontology (throughout the book the author consistently and irritatingly misidentifies this as geology). 

Mary Anning though never formally recognised in her lifetime was a pioneering palaeontologist and skilled fossil collector whose deep geological knowledge led to major contributions in both fields but it was Mary's knowledge of geology that led to her paleontological discoveries. 

It was also interesting to learn about some of the social and historical context of Mary Anning's life. 

I was very curious to read about the author's inspirations and read her explanation behind some of her artistic choices and the decisions she made as a writer. Whilst the author does seem to be knowledgeable about the real Mary Anning I feel like this doesn't quite transpire in the narrative especially considering the important details that are either fabricated or left out entirely. 

I appreciate that it is very challenging to write a completely historically and detail accurate account of a historical figure's life and works and even more so in making it palatable and interesting for younger readers. However, I do feel like certain elements could have been better researched and certain fabricated elements were a little unfair and almost disrespectful to Anning. 

Overall, I can admire that the author intends to educate young readers about an unrecognized and incredible contributer to paleontology who certainly deserves more notoriety. I also understand that I am not the intended audience for this book but whenever I do read children's literature I try to understand how I would feel as a younger reader to make a fair assessment. 

I don't think I would recommend this book as a first encounter with Mary Anning and her work. I feel like this would be better to read with some prior basic factual knowledge and the real Mary Anning in mind.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, easy read, Lightning Mary was... okay. I had high expectations (partly due to that TOTALLY STUNNING COVER) and, unfortunately, those expectations weren’t really met.
Lightning Mary is about the childhood years of Mary Anning, beginning with the lightning strike that some said turned her into the geology genius that she later became, and continuing up until she is about sixteen years old.
Let’s start off with the positives.
I enjoyed reading Simmon’s depiction of the ichthyosaur excavation and I felt that it really brought the book to life. Annoyingly, this was right at the end of the book.
My favourite character was-as odd as it may seem- Mary’s mother, clearly a woman who knows how to carve her own path through life. I found the scenes with her featuring main stage really interesting, especially because mothers usually take a back seat in middle grade fiction, and Simmons doesn’t let that become the case here.
My main problem with this book is Mary. Simmons portrayed Mary Anning as an awkward (slightly autistic?) intelligent child and I sometimes liked it....and I sometimes didn’t. I hated the moments where Mary showed so little emotional intelligence and sometimes she could be so hard-hearted that it was bordering on cruel. I would have loved if we could have seen inside her mind a bit more.

Lightning Mary is short and not exactly sweet (ironically just like this review ;)) and if it had been a bit longer and more complex, I think this could have been a really interesting read. Although I didn’t enjoy it like I was hoping, it is intended for children from 9-11 (it does have a scene where Mary finds out she has her period so I would not recommend it to anyone younger) but for older children they might find the style and plot too simplistic and lacking...like I did...
But, let’s face it, this book is worth buying for the cover.

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book definitely has me interested in learning more about Mary.

In part, I want to determine how much of the author's interpretation of Mary's personality and family relationships are based on writings from Mary or people who knew her, and how much is pure guess. Mary is painted as a strong person, yes, but with so very many prickles - and it almost seemed as if the author's reason behind the prickles changed midway through the book.

If Mary had neurological or psychological differences (as the author implies), that could add great depth to her story and achievements. But, the author says several of the powerful scenes are her own creation as "maybe it was like this but I don't really know." Later she says "I made use of factual information from the internet and Patricia Pierce’s book Jurassic Mary: Mary Anning and the Primeval Monsters (The History Press) but for everything else I just channelled Mary and her insistent voice in my head, telling me how it was for her, and of her pain at the loss of her father – something I could identify with only too well."

The book is interesting and engaging.
I plan to read more to find out if it is faithful to the real Mary.

[Holly Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great novel about Mary Anning, a woman who shaped the world of paleontology but rarely gets credit for it. However, I give this book three stars because I have three main gripes with the book. The first is the repeated sentiment that crying makes you weak. This book is targeted towards children so it makes me uncomfortable that this idea is being introduced especially when the author says it’s worse for boys to cry than girls. My second gripe is the negative attitude towards anything traditionally feminine. I understand that fashion was not Mary’s cup of tea but again, this book is for children. The idea that girls and women cannot be interested in feminine things and also be taken seriously is extremely harmful and misogynistic rhetoric. The third while less harmful but very annoying to me, was the continued use of the word scientist in the dialogue. This story takes place in the early 1800s and the term scientist was not coined until the mid 1800s so it is not at all accurate for the time period and it was used over and over and over again. I know it’s not a big thing but it still drove me crazy.

[isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a reasonably good book. I felt it adequately illustrated Mary’s childhood (in a sense) struggles and triumphs in quite an entertaining manner. This book was in first person, and through that we got to hear Mary’s voice and outlook, which is very bold and inspiring. I especially liked the parts when she broke the fourth wall to talk directly to the reader, which was amusing yet heartwarming in a childlike way. One thing I will say, though, is that one of the main points of this book is Mary’s very outspoken and headstrong manner of speaking and thinking, and as much as I appreciated the extents to which the author expressed this, I felt it was a teensy bit overdone. I mean, realistically, even in the less civilised society of Lyme Rigis such speak would certainly be considered slightly outrageous. On another note, I think the plot was formulated really well, and managed to convey the challenges and obstacles Mary had to overcome. Feelings were described well, in my opinion, which led to a very sensitive and interesting read.

[BookBairn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this take on the childhood of Mary Anning! I thought the writing of her as a truly spirited, somewhat stubborn and possibly neuro-divergent character was really well executed by the writer who had found a fantastic voice for the character. Although Mary could be somewhat unfeeling at times and lacked empathy for those around her, I found myself really drawn to her feisty nature and her dogged determination to find treasures and uncover the mysteries behind them.

I also really enjoyed the depiction of the setting in both time and place as well as the casting of many of the side characters who balanced Mary’s antisocial tendencies and rounded out her character.

I truly loved the story of the real life Mary Anning and thought the author did a brilliant job bringing this to a younger audience.

If you enjoyed this I also recommend Mary Anning’s Curiosity by Monica Kulling which is a similar, though shorter story.

[Jessica Brownlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting and inspirational historical fiction novel on the life of Mary Anning. The story was engaging and exciting, exploring the struggles of Mary being a girl in science at the time. It is uplifting and insightful. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be suitable to use as is for younger children- it was my hope to use for teaching fossils/Mary's life in KS1, due to some harsh vocabulary and description choices surrounding the death of Mary's father. I do still hope to use extracts of this book as it convey's the social struggles for Mary really well. The small chapter at the end of the book puts the book into context and shares even more information about Mary's life and findings. It was a really nice and informative addition. All in all, this was a great read but definitely more suited to y5/6 and up.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the problems with historical fiction based on real people is that the lines blur between fact and story. And, when I've read one fictional account of a character, I sometimes have a hard time accepting another writer's interpretation of that same character. I think this influenced my reaction to Simmons' well-written novel about Mary Anning. Almost 30 years ago, I read and enjoyed Sheila Cole's portrayal of Mary in "The Dragon in the Cliff", which led to me struggling to accept Simmons' portrayal of Mary. I do recommend this historically accurate middle grade novel. I just didn't enjoy it as much as it deserves.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Mary Anning is a super interesting historical figure who doesn’t get enough recognition, so it’s lovely to see children’s books being written about her, even if this veered a bit far into “not like other girls” territory on occasion. Mary is a fun, feisty, (and frankly incredibly autistic) child who understands but still rails against the barriers that not only her gender but her social and economic status place in her way as she uncovers dinosaur bones on her local coast. I imagine many a budding scientist will delight in this, and in discovering Mary.

She unearthed monsters, and survived lightning, and she deserved so much more.

[Denise Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t a book I would have ordinarily picked up and read. I am going to Charmouth and Lyme Regis on holiday so I was interested in reading something about Mary Anning beforehand and as this book was available at school, it was the one I chose.

The opening pages are gripping, describing how Mary survived being struck by lightning when a toddler. I didn’t expect the rest of the story to be as gripping but I found myself being drawn into Mary’s story. What she achieved as a poor, uneducated girl is quite remarkable and it is such a tragedy that she failed to achieve the recognition she deserved during her lifetime.

[Sinéad O'Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engagingly written with a wonderful 'voice', this fictionalised account of the early life of Mary Anning (one of my heroes) was so enjoyable. The book perfectly evokes the frustrations of Mary's status and how little was thought of her genius because she was female; it also gives a palpable account of the challenges she and her family faced due to poverty and illness. A brilliant, interesting, educational story and a great introduction to the incredible Lightning Mary.

[Lizz Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with my daughter. if you can get past the shocking trauma of the first few pages, this is a wonderful read. I loved the descriptions of Mary's fabulous brain, perhaps hinting at neurodivergence? It feels like an autobiography and you can find so many of the references in Lyme Regis or in the museums of Oxford, but regardless of the truth in this book, it was a real stand out for us last year.

[Mair · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5🌟
A fascinating and enjoyable fictional telling of the real life story of Mary Anning, scientist!
It was evocative, inspiring and melancholic in equal measure and didn't necessarily read like a children's book, I think down to its setting, themes and the characteristics of the main character of Mary. However the book is filled with rich detail and a timely message.
I really liked it, who doesn't want to read about paleontological discoveries on the Dorset coast in the 1800s!!

[Hannah Allwright · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I really like Mary Anning. I enjoyed it overall but there were bits that I didn’t like and that felt un feminist. I know that it’s written in the time but it could have done better. Some liberties were taken in the story telling which I expect it had to so that it kept it flowing but it was tricky to know what was factual and what was fiction at times.

[Kjirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know it’s children’s lit (okay, YA), but the sudden shift at the end had the feel of being added as an afterthought. The story moves along with interesting touches until the big discovery, then it suddenly lacks. So, we ended on a bored note but the first half was engaging.

[John Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent fictional account of the early years of Mary Anning - scientist.

[Rakie Keig · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun interpretation of the fascinating early life of Mary Anning, staying true enough to history to feel vaguely educational, while also being interesting and emotional.

[Sarah Mazdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book about Mary Anning's early life

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly aimed at a younger audience but still well written and enjoyable.

[Laura Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good, interesting book! I loved this book and would recommend it . Expect ... a feminist message, fossils and a very strong female lead!!

[Maree Silver · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great based on facts story highlighting the issues of gender inequality and education/profession in the 19th century. Also Mary appears to be portrayed in the book as on the ASD spectrum.