I'm pleased to announce the release of
The Little Animals, in both print and e-book editions,
by Sarah Tolmie. Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek, a quiet linen draper in Delft, has discovered
a new world: the world of the little animals, or
animalcules, that he
sees through his simple microscopes. These tiny creatures are
everywhere, even inside us. But who will believe him? Not his wife,
not his neighbors, not his fellow merchants—only his friend Reinier
De Graaf, a medical doctor. Then he meets an itinerant goose girl at
the market who lives surrounded by tiny, invisible voices. Are these
the
animalcules also? Leeuwenhoek and the girl form a curious
alliance, and gradually the lives of the little animals infiltrate
everything around them: Leeuwenhoek’s cloth business, the art of his
friend Johannes Vermeer, the nascent sex trade, and people’s religious
certainties. But Leeuwenhoek also needs to cement his reputation as a
natural philosopher, and for that he needs the Royal Society of
London—a daunting challenge, indeed, for a Dutch draper who can't
communicate in Latin.
Ursula K. Le Guin wrote of
The Little Animals, “A vigorous, satisfying
historical novel full of interesting and likable characters. To
people who do truly unusual things, such as discover microscopic life,
or paint Vermeer’s pictures, or hear what plague bacilli are saying,
these things are just what they do. Sarah Tolmie’s novel catches this
intersection of the everyday with the unearthly and holds it for us
like a drop of pond water under the lens, vibrant with life and
activity, fascinating in its strangeness and its familiarity.”
The novel received a starred review from
Publishers Weekly: "Tolmie intricately weaves together the best of historical and weird
fiction in this delicate tale of science and miracles. In 17th-century
Delft, Holland, draper and scientist Antonie Leeuwenhoek is on the
verge of a breakthrough discovery: that various substances are teeming
with living “animalcules” that can only be seen by microscope. He is
determined to prove his theories correct, though few people believe
him. When he visits the Delft marketplace, he comes across a nameless,
homeless goose-herding girl who says that she is followed by a
cacophony of tiny voices. Leeuwenhoek strikes up an uneasy alliance
with the girl, as he is certain the voices are those of the
animalcules. Leeuwenhoek and the goose girl’s investigations into the
worlds of the animalcules destabilize the realms of religion, art, and
science. Tolmie balances careful characterization with rich historical
detail, subtle humor, and energetic prose. Her central characters are
suffused with color, and her prose captures the joys and uncertainties
of life-changing discoveries. This delightful novel is not to be
missed."
And Gary K. Wolfe reviewed it for
Locus: "Historical fiction involving scientists has a natural affinity for SF
readers, and for the most part Tolmie’s account of Leeuwenhoek’s
methods of lens-grinding and his detailed observations of everything
from the pond scum called honeydew to blood and eventually semen are
fascinating...What Tolmie does, often brilliantly, is develop a theme
of patterns that reflect in various ways the underlying sense of order
that seems to be emerging into the world she describes—not only the
patterns of Leeuwenhoek’s observations, but the manner in which these
become popular fabric designs (Delft was apparently known for fabrics
before it was known for ceramics, and Leeuwenhoek himself made a
living as a draper), and even in such details as his daughter’s
dollhouse, the design of looms, and the sheet music that a local madam
uses for her spinet...That mysterious goose girl may be the only hint
we get of material magic in The Little Animals, but there’s more magic
in Tolmie’s tableaux of a place and time, which at once seems like a
charming mannerist fairy tale and a provocative account of the birth
of our own modern worldview."
Read a sample from the book.
You can purchase it directly from Aqueduct Press here:
http://www.aqueductpress.com/index.php
