The Signature of All Things

12.85

5th January 1800. Alma Whittaker is born into a perfect Philadelphia winter. Her father, Henry Whittaker, is a bold and charismatic botanical explorer whose vast fortune belies his lowly beginnings as a vagrant in Sir Joseph Banks’ Kew Gardens and as a deck hand on Captain Cook’s HMS Resolution . Alma’s mother, a strict woman from an esteemed Dutch family, is conversant in five living languages (and two dead ones). An independent girl with a thirst for knowledge, it is not long before Alma comes into her own within the world of botany. But as Alma’s careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love draws her in the opposite direction.

In stock

Description

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION
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‘Quite simply one of the best novels I have read in years’ – Elizabeth Day, Observer

‘Charming . . . extensively researched, compellingly readable’ – Jane Shilling, Daily Telegraph

‘Sumptuous . . . Gilbert’s prose is by turns flinty, funny, and incandescent’ – New Yorker
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A captivating story of botany, exploration and desire, by the multimillion copy bestselling author of Eat Pray Love

Everything about life intrigues Alma Whittaker. Her passion for botany leads her far from home, from London to Peru to Tahiti, in pursuit of that rare specimen: knowledge. But as her careful studies draw her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she meets the man who she will come to love – whose perspective, radically different from her own, will transform the way she understands the world.

Radiating with all the heart, soul and earthiness as its unforgettable heroine, The Signature of All Things is a captivating celebration of the workings of this world, and the mechanisms behind all life.
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‘My own 500-pager of choice? Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things . . . just read it . . . Hugely enjoyable’ – Viv Groskop, Observer Books of the Year
‘The story of Alma Whittaker’s journey of discovery has irresistible momentum’ – Helen Dunmore, The Times
‘Gilbert has written the novel of a lifetime’ – O, The Oprah Magazine
‘Filled with dazzling storytelling’ – Susie Boyt, Financial Times
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Additional information

Weight 0.473 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 2.2 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

584

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

813.6 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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