August book of the month: THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS. Come and chat to author Elizabeth Gilbert on Thursday 18 September, 9-10pm

[RachelMumsnet]

Oprah magazine called our August choice ‘the book of a lifetime’, and there is no doubt that The Signature of All Things is a big book.

It is epic in scope – an adventure through the nineteenth century that takes in botany, female emancipation, genius, Darwinism, war and empire – with a delight in the boundless beauty of the natural world.

Elizabeth Gilbert is an award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction, and the author of the phenomenal bestseller Eat Pray Love, which was published in over thirty languages and sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Elizabeth will be joining us for a webchat to chat about this book and her other fiction and non-fiction in early September - date TBC.

We have 50 copies of The Signature of all Things to giveaway. Apply here for a a free copy. If you're one of the lucky 50 we will inform you next Tuesday (22nd July). If you don't access a free copy, order it up online to read over the summer to join us for bookclub in September.

@MrsRedWhite214

Elizabeth, it's great to hear from you. I would love to know what made you decide to mix fact with fiction? Was that always the plan or did that idea come later? I'm intrigued to know how such huge novels start from small ideas.

Hello my dear! I've written both fiction and non-fiction, so it's always a big question for me whether this or that book needs to be true or imagined. But in this case, I decided that I wanted to write the sort of novel I've always loved to read — a big, sweeping, epic, novel of ideas, set in the 19th century I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but I'm always willing to jump off a cliff and try!

@spooktrain

Hi Elizabeth!

You must have done an incredible amount of research into the history of the period, what with the developments in science, society, printing, botanical gardens, botany and all the different locations.
Was there a spark that got you interested in these things? Where did it all start for you? And how long did it take to write such an epic book?

I had vaguely heard of Wallace, but I had never intended him to be a character in the novel. It wasn’t until my research began that he started appearing…and then I fell in love with him. (I still call him “my science boyfriend”.) I loved him too much not to put him in the book.

The places described in the book are so real so vivid - did you travel to any of these places? In particular, is the waterfall a real one?

loved the book, particularly Alma, I found her smart and strong. I did wonder however why you chose to link her quite so strongly with the development of evolutionary theories, particularly making her one of the first to come to this way of thinking.

@PrincessTheresaofLiechtenstein

I wondered were you ever tempted to give Alma a child, later in her life? I wonder what kind of a mother she would have made.

It was a big decision, but I chose to not have Alma be a mother (or to find solace in a traditional marriage.) I wanted to show that women are capable of enduring disappointments in their lives (and even heartbreaks) and that a woman who has a strong vocation can still build a satisfying life for herself outside the pleasures and duties of family. Thank you for the question!

@museumworker

loved the book, particularly Alma, I found her smart and strong. I did wonder however why you chose to link her quite so strongly with the development of evolutionary theories, particularly making her one of the first to come to this way of thinking.

I wanted to put her right smack dab in the center of the single most dynamic and transformative question that was happening in science at that moment in history...also, there was no way she could have been studying the natural world as closely as she was WITHOUT encountering the evolution question — so I had to let her address it! Thanks for the question!

It's not about this book, but I simply have to ask: ever since reading EPL I have been desperate to know where the Victorian gentlemen wank fantasy comes from!

@Shaler

The places described in the book are so real so vivid - did you travel to any of these places? In particular, is the waterfall a real one?

Well, we must suffer for our work, my dear. So, yes: I was forced to travel to Tahiti, and to swim in waterfalls, in order to make the book authentic! I also traveled to England to study at Kew Gardens, and to Amsterdam, to study at the Hortus. And lots of investigation around Philadelphia, as well. The hazards of the job, I suppose! :)

@thisonehasalittlecar

It's not about this book, but I simply have to ask: ever since reading EPL I have been desperate to know where the Victorian gentlemen wank fantasy comes from!

Naughty you! I'll never tell...

:D

@zinher

This is most boring book I ever read. I have up half way through and wondered why I persevered so long.

This made me laugh! I'll do better for you next time, my love... :)

A few more questions:

Do you give any credence to the (now discredited) theory that there is “a signature of all things”?

Marriage is portrayed rather negatively in the book. How much does this reflect your own views about the institution of marriage?

One of the key messages in the book seems to be how important it is to follow one’s passions. Other than writing what are your main passions in life?

Hi Elizabeth, I really loved A signature of All things. I loved the first section with Henry Whittaker- and kept looking at the volume of the book and thinking 'this can't sustain' but it really did - it just got better and better. Thanks so much for such fabulous holiday reading this summer.

One of the things I really loved was that so much of it it felt to me like I was reading a classic of the 19th Century - like reading Jane Austin (though not sure she'd of approved of some of Alma's exploits!) Did you deliberately set out to make the novel feel like it had been written a long time ago?

Oh my word - I didn't know that was in EPL!

Hi, thank you for the most fluid way in which you presented the facts of botany - is it a subject that you have always known a great deal of, or was it just researched for the book?

Also, the emotional journey of Alma's was that always fixed in your mind or could she have found a man to settle down with!!

Thanks for a very interesting read x

@frogletsmum

I absolutely loved this novel! The gentle pace, the weaving together of Alma's story with the scientific discoveries and events of the 19th century, and above all the character of Alma herself - all brilliant.

I'd like to ask Elizabeth, apart from the well-known real-life characters such as Joseph Banks, Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, were any of the minor characters such as the van Devender family 'real' or inspired by real people? Were you tempted to put in an author's note at the end explaining which ones were drawn from real life?

The subsidiary characters were all drawn from a combination of my imagination and some of the real and actual "minor" figures of 18th and 19th century botany. I had no shortage of real-life female botanists to use as inspiration for Alma, as so many women were involved in that field at the time...

Hi Elizabeth! Nice taking with you tonight. :) I really enjoyed this book. I did not read reviews before I started this book. The first part was so interesting about Henry Whittaker's travelling, his life, I liked his cheeky character. I could not put the book down because it was not predictable. Have you used your own travel experience writing this part?

Going by thisonehasalittlecar 's question, I really need to explore more of your work! Thank you for answering my question . It really is a beautiful book and I have been telling everyone to read it!

Completely disagree with zinher - i read in about week - with a brand new baby and 2 other kids to look after. Definitely sustained my interest!

@Sarah3kids

Hi, thank you for the most fluid way in which you presented the facts of botany - is it a subject that you have always known a great deal of, or was it just researched for the book?

Also, the emotional journey of Alma's was that always fixed in your mind or could she have found a man to settle down with!!

Thanks for a very interesting read x

Hi Sarah! Thanks for the great message and the great question! It was really important to me to try to write a book where the heroine 1) doesn't get the man, and 2) is not destroyed by that truth. If you look carefully, you'll see that in most novels (especially 19th century novels) women are given only two endings: You either get the good marriage to the landed gentry, or you die of suicide and despair. In other words, you are either Lizzie Bennet, or you are Anna Karenina. But I think women have more options in life than perfect marriage or total ruin! I also think women have tremendous resilience in the name of disappointment. The women I most admire in the world didn't necessarily always get what they wanted out of life...but they found ways to have meaningful existence, anyhow. Those are the sorts of women I wanted to celebrate, in the figure of Alma. Thanks!

You said you wanted to write a novel like the ones you loved. Do you have an all time favourite? And what was the last book you read outside of researching for the book?

@museumworker

Completely disagree with zinher - i read in about week - with a brand new baby and 2 other kids to look after. Definitely sustained my interest!

I'm glad you liked it, my dear! I can't imagine how you found the time, but I'm delighted you enjoyed the journey.

@MrsRedWhite214

You said you wanted to write a novel like the ones you loved. Do you have an all time favourite? And what was the last book you read outside of researching for the book?

My all time favorite novel is probably GREAT EXPECTATIONS. But in general, I love 19th century fiction — particularly of the British variety. Especially Dickens, Eliot and Trollope. They are my godfathers. As for the last book I read that rocked my world, I adored THE GOLDFINCH.

@PrincessTheresaofLiechtenstein

Going by thisonehasalittlecar 's question, I really need to explore more of your work! Thank you for answering my question . It really is a beautiful book and I have been telling everyone to read it!

Thanks, love!