By Tracy Chevalier
Based on the accounts of fossil collector Many Anning (1799-1847) and much older city-girl friend Elizabeth Philpot, this novel tells the story of a friendship based on the two women's interest in hunting down "curies" or fossilized remains in the British seaside. Mary's family was poor, and she searched the cliffs along coastal Lyme Regis for fossilized treasures that would bring her income. Although she received little credit in her lifetime, many of Mary's discoveries are today housed in British natural history museums and they paved the way toward our understanding of extinction.
Though the conversations and many details are imagined, this story is based on fact. Mary Anning was a poor girl who followed her passion. The ditty "She sells seashells by the seashore" is thought to be based on Mary's life.
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