The Signature of All Things
A Novel
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4.1 • 1.5K Ratings
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed
In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist—but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.
Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The Signature of All Things soars across the globe—from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond. Along the way, the story is peopled with unforgettable characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad. But most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker, who—born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution—bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas. Written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time, Gilbert’s wise, deep, and spellbinding tale is certain to capture the hearts and minds of readers.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We were captivated by this grand historical novel. Elizabeth Gilbert—best known for her autobiographical Eat, Pray, Love—takes us on a different kind of journey here. Beginning with the birth of a baby girl in Philadelphia in 1800, The Signature of All Things sweeps us from London to Peru, Tahiti, and Amsterdam. Gilbert paints each place in rich detail and explores big ideas about science and curiosity. Alma is an extraordinary, brilliant, and flawed heroine, who yearns for experiences beyond family and duty and loves passionately and tragically. We didn’t want to leave her side for a moment.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After 13 years as a memoirist, Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) has returned to fiction, and clearly she's reveling in all its pleasures and possibilities. The Signature of All Things is a big, old-fashioned story that spans continents and a century. It has an omniscient narrator who can deploy (never heavy-handedly) a significant amount of research into the interconnected fields of late 18th- and early 19th-century botany, botanical drawing, spiritual inquiry, exploration, and, eventually, the development of the theory of evolution. The story begins with Henry Whittaker, at first poor on the fringes of England's Kew Gardens, but in the end the richest man in Philadelphia. In more detail, the story follows Henry's daughter, Alma. Born in 1800, Alma learns Latin and Greek, understands the natural world, and reads everything in sight. Despite her wealth and education, Alma is a woman, and a plain one at that, two facts that circumscribe her opportunities. Resigned to spinsterhood, ashamed and tormented by her erotic desires, Alma finds a late-in-life soul mate in Ambrose Pike, a talented botanical illustrator and spiritualist. Characters crisscross the world to make money, to learn, and, in Alma's case, to understand not just science but herself and her complicated relationship with Ambrose. Eventually Alma, who studies moss, enters into the most important scientific discussions of the time. Alma is a prodigy, but Gilbert doesn't cheat: her life is unlikely but not impossible, and for readers traveling with Henry from England to the Andes to Philadelphia, and then with Alma from Philadelphia to Tahiti to Holland, there is much pleasure in this unhurried, sympathetic, intelligent novel by an author confident in her material and her form.
Customer Reviews
Touching
A touching book that shows all the beautiful ways in which love can be felt and expressed. The relationships here feel very real as does the passion for botany. Incredibly well written and another great work by Mrs. Gilbert.
A Jewel of a Book
Certainly one of the best books of this, or any, year. Not being a fan of Eat, Pray, Love, I was hesitant to order this, but am so glad I did. Beautifully written with such timely plotting and wonderful characterizations; just a delight.
The Signature of All Things
Incredible! This books brings to life a world long gone and adds layers of a historical tapestry that completely engrosses the reader. I loved this book and wished it could continue on and on. All the characters were rich and dynamically developed - people one would wish to know. Plot twists made for an exciting story and it informed me about how science developed in the Victorian era. Awesome read!