Another book I haven't read, this month's 6 Degrees Of Separation begins with ....
From the moment Alma Whittaker steps into the world, everything about life intrigues her. Instilled with an unquenchable sense of wonder by her father, a botanical explorer and the richest man in the New World, Alma is raised in a house of luxury and curiosity. It is not long before she becomes a gifted botanist in her own right. But as she flourishes and her research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love draws her in the opposite direction - into the realm of the spiritual, the divine and the magical.
The Signature Of All Things soars across the globe of the nineteenth century, from London and Peru, to Philadelphia, Tahiti and beyond. Peopled with extraordinary characters along the way, most of all it has an unforgettable character in Alma Whittaker.
- Synopsis and book cover image courtesy of amazon.co.uk
A hard one for sure in that nothing automatically jumped out at me but with some thought The Signature Of All Things brought to mind ...
#1 AMONG OTHERS: Drawn into the realm of the magical by her mother who spins dark magic for ill, one day fifteen year old Mori and her mother fight a powerful, magical battle with dire consequences whereupon alone, adrift and at boarding school she retreats into the world she knows best, a world of magic and books.
#2 THE EARTH HUMS IN B FLAT: Bookish, full of spirit and able to fly at night. Twelve year old old Welsh girl Gwenni loves playing detective so when a neighbour mysteriously vanishes she decided to play detective.
#3 THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE: England, 1950, eleven year old Flavia is planning revenge on her sisters when a dead bird is found on the doorstep, a body in the garden.
#4 THE FOOD TASTER: Hired as the book cover shows to test for poisoned pies (amongst of course other delicacies) Ugo is the Duke's food taster in what I felt was largely a bawdy Renaissance comedy of errors.
#5 THE MESMERIST: In another rather bawdy romp of a story from Mrs Fortune who 'regularly made a big pot of stew, added to it nightly (until) if actors became ill it was time to throw it out and start again' to the 'demented Mrs Spoon who instead of dressing when company arrives, takes her clothes off this is a novel with the most amazingly eccentric characters.
#6 AWFUL AUNTIE: Ah, Gibbon! One of my favourite quirky characters of recent reads. An elderly butler, amongst other mishaps he manages to serve hot, buttered carpet slippers in place of toasted crumpets.
6 Degrees Of Separation is a monthly meme hosted by Annabel and Emma in which readers are invited to link six books according to whatever connections come to mind.
6 Degrees Of Separation is a monthly meme hosted by Annabel and Emma in which readers are invited to link six books according to whatever connections come to mind.
6 comments:
Tracy, I am always amused by your 6 Degrees of Separation posts. Excellent job, once again. I have not read any of the books on your list!
You do well to link right into the thread, even when you haven't read the beginning book. Well done!
I've only read the Alan Bradley book, but I do remember several of these from your reviews.
How curious and though nothing jumped out at you at first, you did a bang up job with the connections!
You made clever and insightful connections as usual Terry.
The Signature Of All Things sounds like an interesting book and I would like to give it a read sometime. It seems to cover themes that I am interested in.
I haven't read any of these books, but love watching how you travel from one to the next!
My chain took a very different direction to yours - the joys of Six Degrees :-) https://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/six-degrees-of-separation-from-the-signature-of-all-things-to-disraeli-avenue/
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