Tracy Chevalier - the remarkable writing of her novel about Mary Anning

Event information

When Tracy Chevalier saw this sketch of Mary Anning and learned of her extraordinary life, she knew she had to write about her. A girl from a poor family, in 1811, Anning’s existence as the 12 year old who found the world’s first complete ichthyosaur was almost impossible. And yet there she was - the survivor of a lightning strike who had an unparalleled eye for spotting dinosaurs in the cliffs. Chevalier wove a wonderful fictional narrative from the true story of Anning and her rise to renown in defiance of convention. Here she tells of her own lightning bolt moment of discovering Anning, and the journey of writing ‘Remarkable Creatures’.