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)

Insightful and inspiring

Thoughtful historical fiction of particular appeal for those interested in the life sciences. Smoothly written and an exceptional reading by Juliet Stevenson. One of the best books I’ve listened to this year.

Stunning

What a stunningly beautiful book. I loved every minute and didn’t want it to end.

A little too tedious for my tastes

While the book was well written, there were areas of it that just kept going over and over the same topic and it became boring. Overall I found the main character to not be wholly likeable. The narration was very good, but this won't be a book that I listen to again, and that is usually my hallmark of a really good book.

A different view of Elizabeth Gilbert's talents

This book was such a surprise to me because it is so different than Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. , which I also enjoyed. It is deeply researched and filled with interesting information.

The weaving together of well drawn characters carried me through this historical, two generation, novel in a variety of settings. It was, at times, achingly poignant with misunderstandings and missed opportunities. The establishment of the father's foundations in his youth, his decision making process, his choice of a wife and their treatment of their brilliant daughter come together in ways that make the family more understandable in its dysfunction. They worked to cultivate her mind, but missed significant moments of emotional impact. It is a difficult journey that describes the societal attitudes towards Gilbert's protagonist both specifically and women at the time in general. She poured all her intellectual and physical energy into her work (sometimes described in more detail than I'd prefer, the reason for the 4 stars), but a botanical marvel. And, she longer for something more.

Juliet Stevenson is such a fine narrator. She somehow found distinctly different voices for each of the characters and was able to maintain those differences throughout.

I started reading this book in hard cover, but then switched to listening as I drove from place to place. I liked both, but prefer Stevenson's narration.

Loved this!

A thought provoking journey through time. Filled with wondrous images. Loved all of the characters.

Magical!

This book was brilliantly written, beautifully read, filled with unforgettable characters and landscapes! I loved every word!

Beautiful

Any additional comments?

This book is a beautiful winding tale of plants, life and love. I absolutely loved listening to it.

Absolutely wonderful.

Juliet Stevenson was truly amazing. I could not stop listening. The story was engaging not just for entertainment but for an intellectual journey as well.

Loved it!

This was an exquisite performance of a wonderful tale. Well worth listening to!!
The characters were so finely portrayed, but the reader brought them to life absolutely!

Really good story - reels you in...

What made the experience of listening to The Signature of All Things the most enjoyable?

I wasn't sure about Elizabeth Gilbert, i really enjoyed "Eat, Pray, Love" - but i didn't know if it was genius or just a very close account of a personal experience. With "The signature of all things" Gilbert demonstrates she us truly a good writer, and very capable to develop a story to be enjoyed.