‘Turpeinen matches the heights of Andrea Barrett’ in this sweeping and intimate tale about a fateful encounter between man and nature spanning three centuries and linked by a long-extinct denizen of the northern oceans (Publishers Weekly starred review).
In 1741, thirty-two-year-old naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller joins Captain Bering’s Great Northern Expedition to scout out a sea route from Asia to America. Plagued with hardships, captain and crew never reach their goal, but they do make a unique discovery, a gentle giant that will be named for the young explorer who described it: Steller’s sea cow.
In 1859, the governor of the Russian territory of Alaska sends his men to recover the skeleton of the massive marine mammal rumored to have vanished a hundred years before. Two years later, a revered Helsinki professor hires a talented illustrator—a woman!—to make precise drawings of a set of bones sent from afar. The ill-fated beast will help introduce to a skeptical public the concept of human-caused extinction.
Finally, in 1952, the Museum of Zoology assigns its most talented restorer the task of refurbishing the antique skeleton, a testimony to the sea cow’s fate that will fire the imaginations of future generations.
A breathtaking literary achievement and an adventure that crosses continents and centuries, Beasts of the Sea is a tale of grand ambition, the quest for knowledge, and the urge to resurrect what humankind has, in its ignorance, destroyed.
Genre: Historical
In 1741, thirty-two-year-old naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller joins Captain Bering’s Great Northern Expedition to scout out a sea route from Asia to America. Plagued with hardships, captain and crew never reach their goal, but they do make a unique discovery, a gentle giant that will be named for the young explorer who described it: Steller’s sea cow.
In 1859, the governor of the Russian territory of Alaska sends his men to recover the skeleton of the massive marine mammal rumored to have vanished a hundred years before. Two years later, a revered Helsinki professor hires a talented illustrator—a woman!—to make precise drawings of a set of bones sent from afar. The ill-fated beast will help introduce to a skeptical public the concept of human-caused extinction.
Finally, in 1952, the Museum of Zoology assigns its most talented restorer the task of refurbishing the antique skeleton, a testimony to the sea cow’s fate that will fire the imaginations of future generations.
A breathtaking literary achievement and an adventure that crosses continents and centuries, Beasts of the Sea is a tale of grand ambition, the quest for knowledge, and the urge to resurrect what humankind has, in its ignorance, destroyed.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"A gorgeous, thought-provoking book about the consequences of the human exploration of the natural world. Its narrative moves through lives and times, with sailors, hunters, naturalists, and artists all playing their part." - Sarah Brooks
"Mesmerizing. Near to mythic. This profound and moving novel of lost histories and lives held me captured in its spell." - Essie Fox
"A sprawling, seething epic which intertwines the mysteries of the natural world with their destruction when myth and man collide. A delicately woven tale of exploration and exploitation; a sharp cry to protect what is precious in the world before it vanishes." - Lucy Steeds
"Mesmerizing. Near to mythic. This profound and moving novel of lost histories and lives held me captured in its spell." - Essie Fox
"A sprawling, seething epic which intertwines the mysteries of the natural world with their destruction when myth and man collide. A delicately woven tale of exploration and exploitation; a sharp cry to protect what is precious in the world before it vanishes." - Lucy Steeds
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Used availability for Iida Turpeinen's Beasts of the Sea