Jurassic Mary : Mary Anning and the Primeval Monsters

269 Pages·2013·1.66 MB·English

by  Pierce

JURASSIC
MARY
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To two singular young women,
Amanda
and
Brittany
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JURASSIC
MARY
MARY ANNING
and the
PRIMEVAL MONSTERS
Patricia Pierce
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First published in 2006 by Sutton Publishing
The History Press
The Mill, Brimscombe Port
Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG
www.thehistorypress.co.uk
This ebook edition first published in 2013
All rights reserved
© Patricia Pierce, 2006, 2013
The right of Patricia Pierce to be identified as the Author of
this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied,
reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or
publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically
permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the
terms and
conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly
permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised
distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of
the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may
be liable in law accordingly.
EPUB ISBN 978 0 7524 9569 9
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Original typesetting by The History Press
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Map
1. ‘Verteberries’ and ‘Golden Serpents’
2. Worlds within Worlds
3. Denizens of Primeval Waters
4. Reptiles and Relationships
5. Her Spheres of Excellence
6. The End and the Beginning of a Legend
Appendix: Mary Anning’s Fossils
Notes
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Bibliography
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Acknowledgements
Anyone interested in, or writing about, the life of Mary
Anning must give thanks and credit to the substantial research
carried out by several individuals. One is William Dickson
Lang (1878–1966), Keeper of the Department of Geology at
the British Museum from 1928 to 1938. His wife came from
Charmouth, and he retired there to pursue his studies of local
natural history and geology. All the while he became more
and more convinced of the value of Mary Anning’s
pioneering work, and collected as much information as he
could at that date. His approach was scientific with
references. As president of the Dorset Natural History and
Archaeological Society from 1938 to 1940, he published
many articles in the Society’s Proceedings, and these are an
invaluable source for all writers and researchers on Mary
Anning.
John Fowles (1926–2005), author, novelist, historian and
Lyme resident, became Joint Honorary Curator of the Lyme
Regis Philpot Museum in 1978, and Honorary Curator from
1979 to 1988. His work on Miss Anning and the history of
Lyme importantly focused attention on these subjects.
Today, geologist and historian Hugh S. Torrens, formerly at
Keele University, is a leading expert on Mary Anning. He has
undertaken much valuable research, and is currently writing
his own full biography of Mary Anning. Particularly useful is
his ‘Presidential Address’ of 1995.
Thanks are also due to Jo Draper, Lyme Regis Philpot
Museum; the staff of the Earth Sciences Library, and General
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Library, Natural History Museum; Dr Jenny Cripps, Curator,
Dorset County Museum, Dorchester; and the staff of the
British Library. Also to Jaqueline Mitchell, Hilary Walford
and Jane Entrican, Sutton Publishing; Marion Dent; Kay
Hawkins; Bridget Jones; and my agent, Sara Menguc.
Quotes from Finders, Keepers by Stephen Jay Gould,
published by Hutchinson, are reprinted by permission of the
Random House Group Ltd.
Lyme Regis from the sea.
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