Природа всіх речей

"The nature of all things" is a quote from the German mystic philosopher Jacob Boehme. He meant that if you decipher the code of the name of any object or phenomenon, you can understand its essence.

The main character is not naturally endowed with beauty, so she does not hope for a happy married life. But her father's wealth allows her to live to her own satisfaction. True, her idea of pleasure is very different from the aspirations of today's youth. During the 70 years of her life, Alma Whittaker has visited various corners of the world, including such exotic ones as Tahiti and Peru. She plunged headlong into botany, which in the 19th century was far from a cabinet science. Desperate explorers became pioneers, intrepid adventurers, lucky entrepreneurs, and hopeless romantics. The main character reaches almost the same level of scientific knowledge as Charles Darwin. And Alma's personal life is also full of stormy events.

Masterful reproduction of signs and spirit of the era of great discoveries makes this novel very believable and almost historical.