In 1699, at the age of 52 Maria Sibylla Merian sailed from Europe to the New World on an expedition to study metamophosis. For two years she stalkedthe tropical... » 

In 1699, at the age of 52 Maria Sibylla Merian sailed from Europe to the New World on an expedition to study metamophosis. For two years she stalkedthe tropical wilderness, looking for the caterpillars that were her passion, sketching her discoveries on scraps of parchment. Exquisitely written and illustrated, 'Chrysalis' takes us from golden-age Amsterdam to the Surinam tropics to modern laboratories where Merian's insights fuel a new branch of biology. «