The release date for the English version of 'The Signature of All Things' by
Elizabeth Gilbert is Oct 2013. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
This magnificent, expansive book, written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love, and Committed, explores themes of desire, ambition, and the quest for knowledge.
Elizabeth Gilbert makes a literary comeback in The Signature of All Things, weaving her distinctive style into an enchanting tale of romance, exploration, and revelation. The novel, which takes place over a large portion of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, chronicles the adventures of the remarkable Whittaker family, headed by the resourceful Henry Whittaker, an Englishman from humble beginnings who becomes extremely wealthy in the quinine trade in South America and rises to become the richest man in Philadelphia. Alma, Henry's intelligent daughter born in 1800, ends up becoming a gifted botanist herself after inheriting her father's wealth and intelligence. Alma is drawn in the exact opposite direction—that is, towards the spiritual, heavenly, and magical realms—by a man called Ambrose Pike, with whom she falls in love as her study delves further into the secrets of evolution. Pike paints orchids in a way that is unparalleled. Ambrose is an idealistic artist and Alma is a logical scientist, but what ties this odd pair together is their intense desire to comprehend the principles underlying all life and the functioning of our planet.
The Signature of All Things, an exquisitely researched story delivered at a breakneck speed, travels the world, stopping in places like London, Peru, Philadelphia, Tahiti, Amsterdam, and beyond. The narrative is replete with memorable individuals along the road, including astronomers, sea captains, missionaries, abolitionists, explorers, brilliant people, and the really insane. The most remarkable aspect of it all, though, is the tale of Alma Whittaker, who was born during the Age of Enlightenment and lived well into the Industrial Revolution. Whittaker is a living example of that unique period in human history, when preconceived notions about science, religion, class, and trade were all blowing up into dangerous new theories. Gilbert's insightful, profound, and captivating story is sure to captivate readers' hearts and minds since it is written in the audacious, inquisitive spirit of that unique era.