The novel was inspired by the short story (written in the form of a faux-encyclopedia article) "The Natural History and Extinction of the People of the Sea", also by McIntyre, which was illustrated by fellow author Ursula K. Le Guin.

Her brother, Father Yves de la Croix (a natural philosopher and explorer), has recently returned from a mission commissioned by the king: to bring back the endangered sea monster whose flesh is rumoured to give the consumer immortality.

They bleed her for hysteria, the pope openly shows outrage over the impropriety of her composing a cantata, and several court men harass her on the King's hunt.

London brought the project to Jim Henson Pictures, who said he was drawn to "the weird juxtaposition (of) a completely imagined creature in this very specific historical world."

Mechanic planned for the film to start pre-production in early 2002, with Natalie Portman to star and James Schamus to revise the script, with Gregory Hoblit to possibly direct.

[7] In August 2013, it was announced that Sean McNamara would direct the film, and that casting included Pierce Brosnan as King Louis XIV, Fan Bingbing as the mermaid, and Bill Nighy as Pere de Chaise, a character created for the movie.

[9] Paramount Pictures acquired US distribution rights and set the movie for wide release on April 10, 2015, with international sales being handled by Good Universe.