Joanne Burn is on a mission to uncover what lies beneath. Her new novel The Bone Hunters exposes the magnificent fossils locked under Lyme Regis’ Jurassic cliffs, the gross injustices embedded in female social history, and the ugliness that hides away in human hearts.

It centres on Ada Winters: a poverty-stricken orphan with few prospects, but a wealth of dreams. Chief amongst them is her desire to gain entry into the exclusively male Geological Society Of London by becoming the first Briton to successfully excavate and identify a plesiosaur skeleton. An aquatic dinosaur with the neck of a giraffe, the body of a whale and the face of many a nightmare, Ada sacrifices money, friendship and marriage in her quest to uncover the mighty beast.

Teaming up with Edwin Moyle, an unfulfilled London doctor with money to burn, Ada discovers that the promise of fame can warp even the most respectable of men and that not all monsters are buried safely underground. A gorgeously written, expertly plotted tale, The Bone Hunters draws heavily on the life of Mary Anning to create a rich, rewarding exploration of moral regression in the name of scientific advancement. Make like Ada and dig right in…