Book description
Jeanne Villepreux-Power was never expected to be a scientist. Born in 1794 in a French village more than 100 miles from the ocean, she pursued an improbable path that brought her to the island of Sicily. There, she took up natural history and solved the two-thousand-year-old mystery of how of…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Lady and the Octopus as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I devoured this biography of Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794–1871), the inventor of the modern aquarium, in one afternoon. Written by a marine biologist and cephalopod expert, the book is intended for young readers (ages 10–18), yet I found it immensely engaging as an adult. Jeanne revolutionized marine biology by creating the modern aquarium to observe sea creatures—particularly the argonaut octopus—in their natural environment, and she confirmed that argonauts craft their own shells.
I was fascinated by the obstacles she overcame—her career was overshadowed by sexism, betrayal from fellow scientists, and misfortune, including the loss of much of her work in a…
From Isabelle's list on stop eating octopus salad.
If you love The Lady and the Octopus...
Aggressor
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Want books like The Lady and the Octopus?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Lady and the Octopus.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,276
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Lady and the Octopus, you might also like...
The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More
The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.
Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…
That First Heady Burn
Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of…
