The Tower Menagerie by Daniel Hahn
When King Henry III was given three leopards by his new brother-in-law, Frederick, the Holy Roman Emperor, he ordered -- in desperation -- that they be sent to the Tower of London, his great fortress by the bank of the Thames. After all, where does one keep such things? Soon after the leopards' arrival in 1235 they were joined by an even greater wonder, a huge Norwegian polar bear which was encouraged to catch its own food from the river to save on upkeep expenses. And over the next 600 years -- until the menagerie was closed down by Wellington in 1835, a few years before it became clear he had an interest in the soon-to-open London Zoo -- the Tower played host to thousands more exotic creatures, all brought from overseas by returning explorers or VIP guests. Daniel Hahn's charming history of the first zoo explores the uses and abuses of the menagerie and the legion of Great and Good who came to behold its wonders, from William Blake, who came to look at the 'tygers', to John Wesley, who played his flute to the Tower lions in an attempt to establish if they had souls. Fascinating and insightful in equal measure, THE TOWER MENAGERIE is both an intriguing survey of our changing attitudes to animals and a hugely entertaining canter through six centuries of British history.
Daniel Hahn's engaging book is not just a history of that collection, but of people's attitudes to the animal kingdom in general..I loved the idea of John Wesley wooing lions with flute music to check whether they had souls' The Sunday Telegraph, 18/1 'Hahn's fascinating book covers a giddy spectrum of oddity' Big Issue in the North 'Funny, painful and fascinating' Independent on Sunday 'Entertaining' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE 'Highly enjoyable' CONTEMPORARY REVIEW
Daniel Hahn was educated at Westminster School and Cambridge University. He works as a writer, researcher and translator, and has contributed to a number of recent projects including the new edition of the OXFORD COMPANION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE and the Shakespeare's Globe exhibition. He has also completed a translation of an Angolan novel, CREOLE, published in 2002. THE TOWER MENAGERIE is his first book.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780743483889 |
| ISBN 10 | 074348388X |
| Title | The Tower Menagerie |
| Author | Daniel Hahn |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year published | 2004-02-01 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |