Menagerie

a hugely enjoyable read and makes a valuable contribution that will only serve to enrich what is fast becoming a fascinating field of research * Archives of National History * Grigsons abundance of evidence creates a useful resource for historians of both science and art, and everything in between. * Katherine McAlpine, British Journal for the History of Science * What sets this volume apart is that the author, Caroline Grigson, is not only a fine historian but also a zoologist who knows her possum from her pademelon. As you would expect from a book from Oxford University Press, this is no superficial treatmeny of a complex subject, but an exhaustively researched treatise with extensive quotes from original letters and papers written at the time. * Russell Tofts, Chairman of The Bartlett Society * With lively prose and thoroughly researched anecdotes, it becomes clear that [Grigson] shares a soft spot for the truly extravagant, eccentric and purely bizarre people involved in the world of menagerie. * Bath Chronicle * Grigson [throws] many sidelights on our compulsion to own and associate with animals ... There is much in [this spellbinding book] to suggest that alongside fascination, benevolence and affection lies much ignorance, indifference and active cruelty. * Patrick Scrivenor, Literary Review * ... [an] incisive chronicle of exotic visitations to England's shores. * Nature * [A] fascinating, well-researched and delightful book. * Lawrence James, The Times * Grigson provides a supremely detailed account of England's exotic animals. Her zoological expertise enables her to identity more obscure species exhibited by showmen, while her archival work allows her to untangle their complex journeys to and within the British Isles ... an entertaining and informative read. * Helen Cowie, BBC History magazine * Grigson is terrific at sleuthing down the remains of famous beasts. She also opens a few small windows onto national character ... [and] unearths some surprising historical gems. Who knew that the novelist Daniel Defoe went bankrupt trying to breed civet cats? Or that British hunts were once so desperate for foxes that they had to import them? Although private citizens would continue to keep menageries, this book ends with the demise of the collection at the Tower of London and the foundation of the London Zoo. It all makes the modern reader feel incredibly grateful that today we can enjoy exotic wildlife on our television screens, with the objects of our fascination in their natural habitats and no viewers gored. * Helen Brown, The Daily Telegraph * In Menagerie, the zoologist Caroline Grigson presents an impressive study of the country's ... obsession with exotic animals ... Menagerie is full of fascinating and often charming tales ... As a study of a trend that stems back almost 1,000 years ... it is undeniably and ambitiously comprehensive. * Guy Pewsey, The Independent * Combining a zoologist's knowhow with an historian's tenacity for detail, Caroline Grigson has scoured archives to produce a comprehensive study of animal collections in England from earliest times until the founding of London Zoo in 1828. From archaeological finds to illuminated bibles, auction catalogues to court cases and even a 1705 gravestone commemorating the first woman killed by a tiger it is a story replete with as much comedy as tragedy, peopled by naturalists, aristocrats and showmen who were often as strange as the animals they collected ... Filled with lively anecdote and scholarly commentary, Grigsons book is a delightful guide to our long national obsession with wildlife. * Wendy Moore, The Guardian * Menagerie is a fact-driven narrative with exemplary commitment to detail. * Mary Wellesley, London Review of Books * 5*: The first comprehensive study of the subject, this is an engaging social history with a unique angle. * Juanita Coulson, The Lady * Captivating... celebrates our passion for exotic wildlife. * Jane Shilling, Daily Mail *