The signature of all things is the name of the 16th century
theory...that god had imprinted a message on every plant on earth about what
that plant was for. –Elizabeth Gilbert.
Born in the 'Age of Wonder', Alma Whittaker is the daughter of a wealthy botanical explorer who had traveled on Captain Cook's voyages. She has access to one of the greatest libraries in the New World and has spent her life studying mosses. Alma has an unquenchable curiosity and is driven to try to understand the master clockwork behind every (living) thing. The quest leads her to eminence in science but to disappointment in the realm of romance. The central episode of the novel begins in the 1850s when Alma meets and marries a botanical artist, Ambrose Pike. When intimacy between them fails she sends him to the island of Tahiti. A little more than 3 years later she receives word that Ambrose has died. In her father's footsteps, she travels to Tahiti to unravel the mystery of Ambrose's death where she finally finds some answers, and an understanding of the nature of survival.
CITATION: Gilbert, Elizabeth, The signature of all things. London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
I know there are few greater pleasures in life than to be
completely subsumed by the work you are obsessed with. –Elizabeth
Gilbert.
Born in the 'Age of Wonder', Alma Whittaker is the daughter of a wealthy botanical explorer who had traveled on Captain Cook's voyages. She has access to one of the greatest libraries in the New World and has spent her life studying mosses. Alma has an unquenchable curiosity and is driven to try to understand the master clockwork behind every (living) thing. The quest leads her to eminence in science but to disappointment in the realm of romance. The central episode of the novel begins in the 1850s when Alma meets and marries a botanical artist, Ambrose Pike. When intimacy between them fails she sends him to the island of Tahiti. A little more than 3 years later she receives word that Ambrose has died. In her father's footsteps, she travels to Tahiti to unravel the mystery of Ambrose's death where she finally finds some answers, and an understanding of the nature of survival.
CITATION: Gilbert, Elizabeth, The signature of all things. London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
I know there are few greater pleasures in life than to be
completely subsumed by the work you are obsessed with. –Elizabeth
Gilbert.
Eat, Pray, Love was a bestseller in 2006...but maybe if you
weren't a fan of that book - you might like this one - because its a big, smart
and beautifully written novel...an absolute highlight of the year. –Michael Cathcart, ABC radio.
Finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle (USA).
Also available
in an illustrated edition, large print, audiobook, kindle ebook.
Viking reader’s book club notes, including
interview with Elizabeth Gilbert.
Go to the
Elizabeth Gilbert official author website for interviews, videos, and a TED talk
on thinking creatively.
Listen to an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert by Michael Cathcart on ABC radio.
Promotional video - Signature of all things:
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