Lady of the Butterflies
I've been wanting to blog about this book, because I loved it, but I'm going to have the author herself describe it to you:
Lady of the Butterflies is the fictionalised story of Lady Eleanor Glanville, the first female butterfly collector. The Glanville Fritillary is named after her but she is best remembered for the fact that her relations overturned her will on the grounds that no sane person would 'go in pursuit of butterflies'. Set in Somerset and London during the turbulent time of the Restoration, Lady of the Butterflies is a dramatic tale of passion, prejudice and death by poison, of riot and rebellion, science and superstition, of madness and metamorphosis. It is also about the beauty of butterflies, about hope, transformation and redemption.
(From http://www.fionamountain.com/)
I liked this book because:
1) It transports you in time & place to a setting that is significant in the history of science (England of the mid to late 1600s)
2) It's fascinating to recall a time when spontaneous generation was believed in, and metamorphosis was debated
3) It reminds me of England and its rugged beauty
4) The main character is a strong female
5) The romance provides an entertaining dimension
6) I appreciate the perspective on female identity and motherhood
7) The (true!) story about whether or not the land should be drained reflects an environmental perspective that's relevant to today
8) I enjoyed the twists & turns of the plot
9) The characters seemed very real to me (They were indeed historical figures, but they came to life in the book's pages)
10) I didn't want to put this book down!
Lady of the Butterflies Fiona Mountain, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 2009, 533 pages.
Two historic quotes from the book:
You ask what is the use of butterflies? I reply to adorn the world and delight the eyes of men; to brighten the countryside like so many golden jewels. To contemplate their exquisite beauty and variety is to experience the truest pleasure. To gaze enquiringly at such elegance of color and form devised by the ingenuity of nature and painted by her artist's pencil, is to acknowledge and adore the imprint of the art of God.
John Ray, History of Insects, 1704
If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)