Curiosity Series by Suzanne Moss

“At once the easiest truth to know, and the hardest to realise”. Thea Morell, Georgian heiress and eligible lady, is not normal. At least, that’s what she has come to believe. She loves nothing more than spending hours at the study of natural history, collecting fossils, insects, dead fish, bones and even the odd spider. Up to now, she has held off her mother’s entreaties to marry, but this year something has changed and the pressure is growing... more“At once the easiest truth to know, and the hardest to realise”. Thea Morell, Georgian heiress and eligible lady, is not normal. At least, that’s what she has come to believe. She loves nothing more than spending hours at the study of natural history, collecting fossils, insects, dead fish, bones and even the odd spider. Up to now, she has held off her mother’s entreaties to marry, but this year something has changed and the pressure is growing. While observing and experimenting in her search for scientific truth, Thea also begins to acknowledge a truth about herself. A most inconvenient one which sparks at the lips of the electrical venus and bursts into flame in the presence of the very proper Lady Eleanor Harrington. Has her obsession with the male-dominated world of natural history caused the unnatural tendencies she can’t seem to control? And more importantly, what is she going to do about it? Readers who enjoy books by Julie Cohen, Sarah Waters, Olivia Waite and Marianne Ratcliffe may enjoy this. Suzanne Moss is a historical researcher fascinated by women’s historical journeys through science and sexuality. less

England, 1764. Thea Morrell has everything society deems success: wealth, status, a husband and a title. But her marriage is far from what it seems. Her only solace is found in the hushed halls of anatomy lectures, where questions of life and knowledge sustain her dangerous curiosity. Five years have passed since Martha, her lover and confidante, sailed away. Letters once filled with longing have fallen silent, leaving Thea to wonder if distance or disappointment has severed their bond... moreEngland, 1764. Thea Morrell has everything society deems success: wealth, status, a husband and a title. But her marriage is far from what it seems. Her only solace is found in the hushed halls of anatomy lectures, where questions of life and knowledge sustain her dangerous curiosity. Five years have passed since Martha, her lover and confidante, sailed away. Letters once filled with longing have fallen silent, leaving Thea to wonder if distance or disappointment has severed their bond. She is, after all, failing at cultivating any plant of note, and her arch rival Neville Knatchbull looks set to beat her to every goal. When Frankie, an unruly gardener with secrets of her own, enters her orbit, Thea must decide: will she remain a prisoner of convention, or dare to cultivate a life of her own? A tale of resilience and rebellion, Arguments Against the Cultivation of Female Curiosity explores the peril and promise of a mind that refuses to be tamed. less