There were periods in this book where I would have rated it 6 out of 5, but then there were some arduous times and un-credible characters who spoilt the experience. The philosophical treatises became pretentious and boring eg. the Darwin treatises. Alma, Henry and Mrs de Groot were superb characters. Prudence and Ambrose were not. I felt that the book suffered the ebb and flow of inconsistency...moments of brilliance and tedious renderings which should have been tightened up/edited out. Nevertheless, I sense a classic in the making. When I have joined Alma in the after life I suspect that this will be a prescribed work at post graduate level allowing for endless debate and reflection... I fortunately fell upon this book, without any previous knowledge about Gilbert and her writings. The audio book was available immediately and captured me from the beginning. This is a book for everyone interested in history, science and fiction, clever and well documented. I picked a few plant names from the book and researched those myself, very accurate descriptions, historical facts of the 19th century are all-rounded and eye opening. Alma Whittaker is a wise, brilliant and enduring character, almost a Methuselah in her own right.
Do You like book The Signature Of All Things (2013)?
Strong female character with a thirst for knowledge. One of my favorites.
—marosam236
