The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
Acquisitive men of leisure in the early 20th C had collections– of stamps, coins, Dutch landscapes, or more unusually, wild birds’ eggs. Some of the most desirable eggs were from the guillemot, a chocolate-brown seabird that nests in tight colonies on the coastal cliffs of England and Scotland. The eggs are large, pear shaped, and vividly colored.
Not that the wealthy gentlemen gathered the eggs themselves. The retrieval was done by local climbers, who would swing over the cliffs in roped harnesses and take the eggs from the nests. It was dangerous work. Once the egg was out of the nest, the climbers killed the chick within.
Today in the U.K., it is illegal to collect, buy, or sell wild birds’ eggs, but the storage rooms of museums are filled with egg collections donated by the bemused heirs of those early obsessives. “Eggers” still exist, however, and there is thriving black market for wild birds’ eggs.
Sounds like the basis for an excellent novel, yes? Well, not so much. The historical background in The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer (NCN Book Club Selection July 2026) was fascinating, but the novel was disjointed. Book Club members enjoyed egg related research more than the book!