Lightning Mary by Anthea Simmons

“I feel it in my bones.”

Local author Anthea Simmons’ new Young Adult novel Lightning Mary is perfectly timed. It channels the voice of a young woman who at the age of just 12, along with her brother, made her first big discovery – the fossilised skull of an ichthyosaur. Feisty, plain-speaking and unconventional, Simmons’ Mary is a very modern heroine.

Read our interview with Anthea Simmons in the 2019 Spring/Summer edition of our Members’ magazine Time to Inspire.

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“Ordinary is what most people are and I am not. I am not ordinary at all. I am a scientist.”

One stormy night, a group of villagers are struck by lightning. The only survivor is a baby – Mary Anning. From that moment on, a spark is lit within her.

Growing up poor but proud on the windswept Dorset coast, Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils uncovered by waves and landslips: ancient creatures, turned to stone. Ignoring other people’s taunts, Mary faces danger to bring back valuable treasures to help feed her family. But tragedy and despair is never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. What will happen when she makes her greatest discovery of all?

With a factual section about Mary Anning, her life, and the discoveries she made.