Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier

Set in Lyme Regis at the start of the European fascination with fossils, the Remarkable Creatures of the title are not only the ichthyosaurus and the plesiosaurus, but also Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpott, two women with the eye for finding them. A great read combining history and science, evolution and religion, women and society in the early 19th century.

Amazon.co.uk link: Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier