Broken Lids and Dinosaur Fossils - Who Was Mary Anning?

The portrait of Mary Anning from Wikipedia. 

Having seen Kate Winslet's film, Ammonite, I have been fascinated by the life of fossil hunter Mary Anning for a while now - not least because she was a contemporary of Jane Austen, but also because she lived in Lyme Regis where Jane Austen spent some of her seaside holidays. So when I visited Lyme Regis a few weeks ago, I had to visit Lyme Regis Museum to learn more about Mary Anning and see where she held her shop. Did Jane Austen and Mary Anning ever come across each other? Intriguing!

Mary Anning's statue with Jurassic coastal cliffs in the background. 

Mary Anning was born in Lyme Regis in 1799 to cabinet maker and carpenter, Richard Anning, and Mary Moore. Lyme Regis is situated in what is known as "Jurassic Coast" and is an area where several fossils from the Jurassic era can be found. From a very young age, Mary was taught by her father how to collect and prepare fossils from the cliff-side fossil beds, which was certainly not a typical hobby for a young girl to have and a dangerous one at that!

Kate Winslet's (Mary's) costumes from the film "Ammonite" on display at the Lyme Regis Museum.

The Anning family lived in dire poverty, in crowded living conditions, so much so that 8 of their 10 children died in childhood. Due to food shortages caused by the Napoleonic wars, this was a hard time for the poor. As fossil collecting was in fashion at the time and fossils were sold as curios, the young Mary started selling fossils, such as ammonites, to visiting tourists in order to augment the family's income. I wonder if the Austen family ever bought her fossils as a souvenir? 

A 190-million-year-old ammonite on display at the museum. 

After Mary's father's death, the family were left deeply in debt and Mary, who was then just 11 years old, started a full-time business selling fossils with her mother and sister. Looking for fossils, especially vertebrate ones, was risky work due to landslides and other dangers. Amazingly, in 1811 when Mary was 12 years old, she and her brother found the fossil of an ichthyosaur and sold it for £23 to a lord who passed it onto public display in London. She would draw a picture of each skeleton and write a detailed description of it based on her reading of scientific literature.  

The first Itcthyosaur. 

A letter with a detailed drawing of an itchthyosaur written by Mary Anning to Sir Henry Bunbury.

Mary was 24 years old when she found her first complete plesiosaur, which was a huge breakthrough in geology and anatomy. She continued to find fossils and made (often unsuccessful) efforts to interact with the scientific community.  In 1826, at the age of 26, Mary purchased a sea-front house with a glass window and started her shop there. Many collectors and experts visited her there. The shop was later pulled down but stood where the Lyme Regis Museum is now located. 

Lyme Regis Museum - Mary Anning's shop was located on this site. 

I find it astounding to think that a young impoverished girl, who had very limited education, would have made such significant discoveries. Self-taught and disciplined, Mary must have worked extremely hard in order to support her family, and her contributions to science have made her one of the best known women scientists and fossilists of all time.   

Now to the significant question: did Jane Austen ever meet Mary Anning and was there a connection? 

The view from Pyne House where Jane Austen stayed. 

Jane may well have visited Mary Anning's father's shop and met young Mary. In 1804, when Mary was 5 years old, Jane Austen was visiting Lyme Regis with her parents, staying at Pyne House, which was around the corner from Mary Anning's home. Jane wrote to her sister Cassandra, who was staying with her close friend Martha Lloyd in Ibthorpe: "I have written to Mr Pyne, on the subject of the broken lid; it was valued by Anning here, we were told, at five shillings, & as that appeared to us beyond the value of all the furniture in the room together, We have referred ourselves to the owner." Jane Austen was hoping to have a broken lid fixed, but obviously found Mr Anning's rates too high. As we have learnt, it is likely that Mr Anning really needed the money!

Hazel Mills has written more about this fascinating connection on her Facebook page Jane Austen Daily.

Street lights are in the shape of fossils here. 

References:

Le Faye, Deirdre. (2011) Jane Austen's Letters. Fourth Edition. OUP.