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The backstory: Tracy Chevalier is an author whose work I've enjoyed for more years than I've been blogging (my sixth blogoversary will be in March for those keeping track.) As I read all of her books pre-blogging, she's one of those rare favorite authors of mine whose work has only been reviewed once here ( my review of  Remarkable Creatures . ) The basics: The Last Runaway  is the story of Honor Bright, a young, British Quaker woman who sets out with her engaged sister to move to Ohio in 1950. My thoughts: When I sat down to read The Last Runaway  on a flight to Portland, Oregon in October, I had to take a deep breath. I admit: I fear my favorite authors will disappoint me. I fear I will somehow outgrow them or their worth will outgrow me. With The Last Runaway , I was also afraid because the topic of the Underground Railroad is fascinating to me. I didn't want my high hopes to hamper my enjoyment of the novel. Looking back, I'm grateful I started this novel a...

The backstory: I've read and enjoyed all of Tracy Chevalier's historical fiction novels about real people ( Falling Angels ,  the story of Emmaline Pankhurst and the British suffrage movement is my favorite), so I was excited to read her most recent novel. The basics: Remarkable Creatures is the story of two female fossil collectors in the 1800's: Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot. The two women become friends after Elizabeth and her two other single sisters move from London to Lyme, England when their brother marries. My thoughts: Tracy Chevalier makes history come alive. I knew nothing of Mary of Elizabeth when the novel began, but I quickly became engrossed in their stories. The women take turns narrating alternating chapters, but I found myself enjoying Elizabeth's story so much more than Mary. I enjoyed Mary more in the chapters Elizabeth narrated than when I saw the world through her eyes. While the novel is the story of these two women, it's also a fasc...

Waiting on Wednesday is a new feature at nomadreader . Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts this weekly event encouraging book bloggers take Wednesdays to feature an upcoming book they're excited about. Title: Remarkable Creatures Author: Tracy Chevalier What else has she written: Girl with a Pearl Earring (the basis for the film of the same name with Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson), Falling Angels , Burning Bright, The Lady and the Unicorn, and The Virgin Blue . Pages: 320 Publication date: January 5, 2010 I am a huge fan of Tracy Chevalier. I first read Girl with a Pearl Earring because I love art history and novels about art history. Falling Angels is my favorite Chevalier book. It's a fictionalization of Emmaline Pankhurst and the British women's suffrage movement. I also loved The Lady and the Unicorn , another take on a famous work of art. I had the privilege to see the panels in Paris, and they truly came to life in new ways because of Chevalier's ...