This is my first time reading Elizabeth Gilbert. I think
I'm one of fifty people
who has never read her book, Eat, Pray, Love. SIGNATURE OF
ALL
THINGS begins with Henry Whittaker's "rags to riches by way
of hard
work, cunning, and ruthlessness" story. He claws his way to
the top,
becoming a rare plants and pharmaceuticals baron, one of the
richest and
most powerful men in Philadelphia, and the proud owner and
resident of
the great White Acre estate, home to and propagator of both
rare plants
and rare intellect.
Many readers have noted that Henry's story seems to be
given too much attention in a lengthy novel that is
supposedly not about him but about his
daughter, Alma. However, if SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS
revolves
around Alma, Alma revolves, for much of the book, around
Henry and
around White Acre, which is almost more a character than
merely a
location: "White Acre was both magnificent and daunting,
especially upon
first sight. The place had been expressly designed to
intimidate, after all,
and few guests could hide their awe, their envy, or their
fear." Now
ensconced in White Acre, and having acquired, somewhere
along the way,
a very sensible, intelligent, and industrious Dutch wife,
Beatrix, Henry is
now ready to raise a family in the splendor he only dared to
dream of when
he was a child himself.
As fate would have it, Henry and Beatrix are blessed with
only one child, a
little girl named Alma, born in the year 1800 (which makes
it very easy for
readers to know how old Alma is whenever a date is mentioned
in the
story). Surprisingly, Henry is not upset at having only a
daughter as his sole
heir, and he is more than happy for Beatrix to raise Alma
under the
strictures of a very thorough classical education, while
both her parents
instill in Alma a supremely logical and scientific way of
thinking, as well as a
love of and aptitude for well-reasoned debating, which earns
Alma her
place at the table during the Whittakers' famous dinner
parties, hosting the
greatest minds of the age.
SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS is beautifully written and filled
with
many rich characters. Spanning the heady scientific 18th and
19th
centuries, this saga explores the world of science, botany,
and intellect
through Alma's eyes. A travelogue of sorts, the story
explores both the
inner workings of a human heart and mind, as well as far
flung places
around the globe. The story unfolds slowly, and if you are
even remotely
familiar with the history of science, you will delight in
the ways Alma gets
inserted into the landscape.
SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS is breathtaking, spectacular and
highly
enjoyable, the book will remain etched in your memory for a
long time for
the wonderful cast of characters - both believable and
unbelievable.
Elizabeth's vivid description of 18th and 19th century
events seem so real,
virtually taking the readers back to that age. All in all,
SIGNATURE
OF ALL THINGS was most enjoyable and I would certainly
recommend it.
In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to
fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling
story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the
fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the
enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who
makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade,
eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in
1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both
her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a
botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma’s research
takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls
in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable
paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite
direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and
the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a
utopian artist—but what unites this unlikely couple is a
desperate need to understand the workings of this world and
the mechanisms behind all life.
Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The
Signature of All Things soars across the globe—from London
to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond.
Along the way, the story is peopled with unforgettable
characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers,
astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad. But
most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker,
who—born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into
the Industrial Revolution—bears witness to that
extraordinary moment in human history when all the old
assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class
were exploding into dangerous new ideas. Written in the
bold, questing spirit of that singular time, Gilbert’s wise,
deep, and spellbinding tale is certain to capture the hearts
and minds of readers.
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