Spirals in Time

The secret life and curious afterlife of seashells

‘You can’t fake this kind of passion’ Wall Street Journal.

‘Scales goes for the surprising and shocking, as she should’ Washington Post.

‘Nature writing at its most engaging’ Sunday Express.

‘gripping and unimaginable’ Daily Telegraph.

The Guardian bestseller, Spirals in Time, was picked as a book of the year by The Economist, The Times, Guardian and Nature, and it was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Biology book prize.

Through the ages, people have used sea shells not only as decorative trinkets but these curious objects have played a key role in people’s lives.

Seashells offer insight into the minds of our distant ancestors, they teach us about evolution and the curiosities of life on Earth and they are bellwethers of our impact on the environment, reminding us why nature matters to us all.

I chatted about the book on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week.

Daily Telegraph Magazine feature about me and the book.

Order a copy

In the UK, all my books are available from my store at Bookshop.org. I am donating all proceeds from sales via Bookshop to the ocean conservation charity Sea Changers.