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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Publisher Review

Unlike anything else she has ever written ... Its prose has the elegant sheen of a 19th-century epic, but its concerns - the intersection of science and faith, the feminine struggle for fulfilment - are especially modern -- Steve Almond * International Herald Tribune * The story of Alma Whittaker's journey of discovery has irresistible momentum -- Helen Dunmore * The Times * Ms Gilbert has established herself as a straight-up storyteller who dares us into adventures of worldly discovery, and this novel stands as a winning next act ... A bracing homage to the many natures of genius and the inevitable progress of ideas, in a world that reveals its best truths to the uncommonly patient minds -- Barbara Kingsolver * International Herald Tribune * Charming and compelling ... A big novel in all senses - extensively researched, compellingly readable and with a powerful charm that will surely propel it towards the bestseller lists -- Jane Shilling * Daily Telegraph * Gilbert has written the novel of a lifetime * O, The Oprah Magazine * Sumptuous ... Gilbert's prose is by turns flinty, funny, and incandescent * New Yorker * Quite simply one of the best novels I have read in years ... a bejewelled, dazzling novel -- Elizabeth Day * Observer * Readers prepared to enter Gilbert Time will be rewarded: she is an unflaggingly curious writer, prone to delightful touches ... Gilbert's period interests seem boundless - she explores everything from self-sacrifice, to homosexuality, Darwinism and Victorian pornography ... This is a novel to be chewed over, slowly -- Lucy Atkins * Sunday Times * A botanical odyssey through the nineteenth century, global in ambition, revelling in the period's insatiable curiosity about the world ... a tall tale, told with verve and wit * Guardian * Filled with dazzling storytelling -- Susie Boyt * Financial Times * Gilbert writes superbly well -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail * An intricate, beautifully written historical novel ... A passionate paean to the 19th-century women of science who strove for achievement against the odds -- Anita Sethi * Metro * Gilbert's observations, of both characters and locations, make this an unexpected joy and in Alma she has created a truly unforgettable heroine -- Anita Chaudhuri * Irish Examiner * Astute and funny ... comes with generous helpings of optimism and romance. Cynics need not apply * Irish Sunday Mirror * Ambitious, boldly imagined and packed with authenticating detail, it engages very boldly with the interaction of art and science * Andrew Motion, Guardian * Gilbert reminds readers she can do, and undo, narratives through impeccably observed and original stories * Independent * Gilbert shows herself to be a writer at the height of her powers * O Magazine * Magnificent ... I was just a few pages into the book when I felt myself relax, aware that I was in the safe hands of a master story-teller -- Anna Carey * The Irish Times * 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 *