There are worse fates.I was mildly irked by one plotline that seemed like a modern imposition on Regency society (and there's nothing in actual history to support this part of the story): Mary and Elizabeth both fall for the same older guy. Mary hopes that he'll ask her to marry him, but eventually realizes that's simply not going to happen. After she figures that out, she decides to sleep with him just one time, just for the experience of having sex, because she's realized she's not likely to ever marry him or anyone else. It just seemed like late 20th century kind of thinking to me. If she'd slept with the guy hoping to get him to marry her, that would have made more sense for those times. Plus the guy is kind of a cad, but that's a whole 'nother story.

How these three lives intertwine makes for a heartwarming, feel-good story. There’s a mystery to solve, one Marcellus has figured out. He only has to find a way to get the humans to piece the puzzle together. He might be curmudgeonly, but he has a soft spot for these two, especially Tova, with whom he shares a strong bond. You know where the story is going, but it’s OK, because the journey there is charming and delightful. Marcellus, of course, stole my heart, putting a smile on my face, and a lump in my throat. First, Shelby Van Pelt is not a master of nuanced foreshadowing. I can’t give you specific examples, or I’ll spoil the plot, but I was bludgeoned by hints of things to come. I found myself thinking: I’m not an idiot, lady. You don’t have to hit me over the head with your clues. Set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, with a lively cast of characters (human and cephalopod), engaging and well-paced narrative and a perfect combination of emotion, humor, wit and wisdom (suspend disbelief and you will enjoy the story!), Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful story that will tug at your heartstrings and leave you with a lump in your throat and a smile on your face. I now know more than I ever expected to about fossil-collecting by English women during the Regency period.Tova is a seventy year old widow who lost her son many years ago and spends her nights cleaning the local aquarium. Marcellus is an octopus nearing the end of his life. He is a Remarkably Bright Creature. One night he and Tova forge a bond. Cameron is a wayward young man floating from job to job and lamenting that his mother abandoned him when he was young and never told him who his father was. When he finds a clue that leads to a man in Washington state, Cameron leaves California to go confront him. Tracy Chevalier (author of Girl with a Pearl Earring) created a fictional account of the friendship of two women who not only existed in real life but who also changed natural history as we know it. And all this decades before Charles Darwin would publish that little known tome about the the origin of species. The ways in which Mary and Elizabeth regard each other over the years allows the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring to do what she excels at: reveal slowly, in meticulous period detail, not one but two women being looked at. When Elizabeth first meets her, Mary is an eager, illiterate child. Elizabeth teaches her to read; Mary teaches Elizabeth how to find, to clean and, as Chevalier represents it, to empathise with fossils. Educated, analytical Elizabeth, the voice of social and intellectual context, is all too aware that society is critical. Provincial Regency life finds her, Mary, fossils and their friendship provokingly odd. Then their friendship is riven by a man - or by Mary's feelings for one. Until this story, I had no idea who Mary Anning or Elizabeth Philpot were and how important their work was in the discovery of prehistoric creatures. Their discoveries at the beginning of the 19th century came at the time when many tried to explain or reconcile geology with their religious beliefs when very idea of extinction was anathema because it suggested that God was imperfect. What are these creatures and why don’t they still exist? Is it possible that God made a mistake with these animals? Take this exchange between Reverend Jones and Elizabeth Philpot:

Chevalier does a fine job of smoothly incorporating many historical figures into the narrative, though her Author's Note mentions that she had to condense the timeline quite a bit and that she also took some artistic license with some of the relationships. I must say that I was not particularly fond of her interpretation of the course of the relationship with Mary and Col. Birch. I was also frustrated with some of the changes in the friendship between Mary and Elizabeth--I am not sure whether this was true or artistic license, but I certainly hope that these otherwise thoughtful women would not be quite so silly and petty.

But for me the most intriguing aspect of the story, which was set primarily in Lymes Regis, England in the first quarter of the 19th century, was the capturing of that moment in time when there is a shift in the questions that scientists and other intellectuals are asking. Are these fossils animals that are no longer living? If so, why, and does that mean that God, their creator, is not perfect? Do the fossils that are being discovered mean that the earth is much older than currently thought? You get to experience these transformative thoughts that frighten people and eventually change the world in which we live. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. The second woman is Anning's friend, Elizabeth Philpot, an educated woman who, being a spinster, relocated with her sisters to Lyme Regis after the death of their father. In fact, reading her story strongly reminded me of the sisters in Sense and Sensibility - and yes there even is a military man who plays a crucial role in the lives of both women.

Marcellus McSquiddles, a giant Pacific octopus who is held in Sowell Bay Aquarium (and a bit of a curmudgeon) begins the story narrating his life in captivity. He has a special relationship with the nightly cleaner, Tova Sullivan. Tova is a widower whose eighteen-year-old son went missing over thirty years ago, and she still feels the loss daily. Tova is an excellent cleaner who takes her job seriously. She’s seventy years old and is on the verge of retiring. Yet she loves all her exhibits of sea life. If you believe that animals can bring comfort and happiness to a person’s life and can help you heal from life's tragedies, you will love this book!! It is quirky and fun but there are also some serious issues described.Remarkable Creatures is the story of Mary Anning, who has a talent for finding fossils, and whose discovery of ancient marine reptiles such as that ichthyosaur shakes the scientific community and leads to new ways of thinking about the creation of the world. GR user Hellie writes in her review that "maybe inventing new characters rather than shoehorning some real life people into it would have worked better". I agree. Remarkable Creatures is a historical novel by Tracy Chevalier, published in 2010. It tells the story of two real historical figures from the 19th century: Mary Annig, and her friend Elizabeth Philpot. While both women were knowledgeable fossil hunters and skilled at identifying ancient species, the real-life Mary was a pioneering figure in the world of paleontology, and the book recounts two of her most amazing finds.

God apart, the conventions shaken by these women, simply by who they are and what they are interested in, are the even more rigid ones of class and gender. Giant marine reptiles are not the only remarkable creatures in this book. Chevalier turns a warming spotlight on a friendship cemented by shared obsession and mutual respect across profound class fissures; a friendship between two women who were indirectly responsible for several male careers and ultimately (partially, very indirectly) for Darwin's insights. She also gives it what Darwin himself considered mandatory in a novel, a happy ending - or happy enough. The Publisher Says: A voyage of discoveries, a meeting of two remarkable women, and extraordinary time and place enrich bestselling author Tracy Chevalier's enthralling new novel Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.

Plot: What's the story about?

The official record doesn’t offer much drama beyond Mary and her family being on the edge of going to the poor-house most given days. Very suspenseful if you are experiencing it, but not the most riveting plot for the reader. So I completely understand why Chevalier creates the rivalry between the two women for the attention of one un-noteworthy man. Still, it disappoints me. One the main ribbons running through this book is the changing role of women during this time period—getting recognition for their minds, not just their appearances, and loosening some of the conventions that bound them to child-rearing and household roles. Both of the main characters and all of the marine reptiles are indeed remarkable creatures. She, (and Marcellus-who is more observant than ANY human) will find themselves involved in the mystery about what brought the “new guy” to town-JUST the stimulation a bored Octopus needed! This book contains one of my absolute favorite themes--found family. And one could even include Marcellus in that mix because although his role in the story isn't very large, it is certainly impactful. As I mentioned, there are a plethora of coincidences in this novel, so you'll have to set that aside to enjoy the simple beauty of the tale if those types of things bother you. Cameron has a LOT of growing up to do, which he does through the course of the novel.