Play Book Tag discussion

I glad I read this historical novel. And I’m grateful that society has changed so much since the early 1800s, when the story takes place in Lyme Regis, on the southwest coast of England. Women had few rights and were subjected to rules of behavior that make me seethe. Of course, they received little if any credit for their accomplishments and that is exactly what happened to Mary Anning, a real fossil-hunter of the time, who was responsible for many finds that expanded natural history knowledge. The story is about her work and her friendship with Elizabeth Philpot, another woman who also hunted fossils on the beach. Since I know little about this subject, I learned a lot from the book. Elizabeth was from a higher social class and the dynamics of such a relationship are well portrayed. It wasn’t just the sexism and misogyny that roused my anger, the upright, uptight social mores in England at that time restricted everyone; my impatience with the culture is one reason I don’t read much historical fiction from this place and time. Of course, that’s not the fault of the author. Jane Austen wrote about the same period but infused it with a lightness and made it sound amusing. I’m sure Chevalier’s portrayal is the way I’d have experienced it. I was thrilled to find that the last chapter was devoted to explaining what was fact and what was fiction as this allowed me to feel more confident in what I was learning. I appreciate the author’s meticulous research.