The Signature of All Things

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Gilbert

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Length: 21 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the number-one New York Times best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed

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 18th and 19th 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 listeners.

©2013 Elizabeth Gilbert (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Gilbert's triumphant return to fiction is matched by Juliet Stevenson's lyrical reading. Both author and narrator capture the listener from the novel's opening words.” (AudioFile)

"A rip-roaring tale...unlike anything Gilbert has ever written.... Its prose has the elegant sheen of a nineteenth-century epic, but its concerns...are essentially modern." (The New York Times Magazine)

"With this novel about a young, nineteenth-century Philadelphia woman who becomes a world-renowned botanist, Gilbert shows herself to be a writer at the height of her powers." (O, The Oprah Magazine, "Our Favorite Reads of the Year")

"The most ambitious and purely imaginative work in Gilbert’s 20-year career: a deeply researched and vividly rendered historical novel about a 19th century female botanist.” (The Wall Street Journal)

A storyline to bathe the imagination

I love being transported back into earlier centuries and 'The Signature of All Things' did this expertly. I found the story rich and exciting, epic in proportions and fascinating. At one stage I thought that Elizabeth Gilbert must have studied botany herself, so detailed is the information about plants. And to then place all that information in another century shows her skill as a storyteller. Ugly Alma is a wonderful heroine and many of her ponderings about life, love and the universe have been my own, making her even more likeable as a character.

My reason for only giving the story 3 stars is that I found the last third of the book somewhat tedious and slow, despite the fact that many issues are resolved here.

All in all, though, I enjoyed this book thoroughly.

The most beautiful of tragedies.

A story that spans generations, yet stays so in touch with the human condition. I’m better to have read, and sadder now that it has gone.

great story

Loved the story. I felt like I lived the lifetime with her. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is that at times it went way too deep and too long describing the botany. performance was enjoyable.

amazing

I could listen to this story forever
it is more real than my sweet foot

Great book!

The book was amazing. However, as a native Dutch speaker I was not happy by the pronunciation of the Dutch in this audiobook. Next time, perhaps choose a bilingual speaker. Elizabeth Gilbert was brilliant as always.

Smart, layered, well-written

First, I think I would listen to anything Juliet Stevenson narrates -- she's really superb. But this is a solid book with really good writing, surprising twists, and the botany feels deeply researched. A tiny bit wonky at times, with a touch of sentiment -- but never mind that. It's all quite good.

Long but good

At 21 hours long, this is a very long audible book. However, I found it to be quite engaging so it went by quickly. I am not a botanist, amateur or otherwise, so I cannot comment on the accuracy of the science in this book. That being said, it FELT well researched, it read very much like an engaging biography.

Struggle

I struggled to start this book. I struggled to stay wither story. The story is about struggle. Glad it's done.

amazing book and well read!! I want listen again!

amazing book and well read!! I want listen to it over again! it combined so many thing that I enjoy!

rambling

a bit of a slow read, a bit mundane character development.. but maybe that's the point