The Elephant Keeper
by Christopher Nicholson
List Price:
Our Price: $2.67
You Save: $22.32 (89%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Christopher NicholsonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-08-04
ISBN: 0061651605
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: William Morrow
Book Reviews of The Elephant Keeper
Book Review: A charming yet moving story
Summary: 5 Stars
Set in the latter half of the eighteenth century, this is a story about an elephant, perhaps the first to arrive in Britain, and its keeper Tom Page, the thirteen year old son of a groom. What starts Tom writing this account of the elephant he secretly names Jenny is a request from a visitor to his employer and owner of the elephant, a request for a History of the Elephant. For Tom has proved not only to be an able and knowledgeable elephant keeper, but it seems he is also able to communicate with Jenny, he can speak the language of the elephant. What follows however is much more than a History of the Elephant.
Teenage Tom's initial concern is his ability to write, he realises that while it is OK to say "try", in writing one must say "strive", "attempt" or "endeavour", (This is after all 1773) so the prose of Tom's account has a quaint preciseness; but this in no way distracts, in fact one is very soon hardly aware of it, yet it lends an endearing quality.
I deliberated over choosing The Elephant Keeper, stories about animals do not usually appeal to me, but I do not regret my choice for once I started reading I could not put the book down. The story is absolutely captivating, the relationship and understating Tom and Jenny enjoy truly delightful. Soon Tom finds himself conducting lengthy conversations with his elephant, initially Tom relates these interchanges without the use of speech quotation marks, but later these subtly appear, seeming to emphasise the apparent reality of the communication. However the story is much more than a History of the Elephant; it is a story of adventure, and of the people who touch on the lives of Tome and Jenny, but is above all a story of a life-long bond of love and loyalty.
I found the story so engrossing I read the book in almost one sitting; at times it would make me chuckle, even laugh; the latter part of the story was so moving I read from much of the time with a lump in my throat and was often close to tears. It is without doubt one of the most charming books I have read in a very long time.
Summary of The Elephant Keeper
I asked the sailor what an Elephant looked like; he replied that it was like nothing on earth.In the middle of the 18th century, a ship docks at Bristol with an extraordinary cargo: two young elephants. Bought by a wealthy landowner, they are taken to his estate in the English countryside. A stable boy, Tom Page, is given the task of caring for them.The Elephant Keeper is Tom?s account of his life with the elephants. As the years pass, and as they journey across England, his relationship with the female elephant deepens in a startling manner. Along the way they meet incredulity, distrust and tragedy, and it is only their understanding of each other that keeps them together.Christopher Nicholson?s charming and captivating novel explores notions of sexuality and violence, freedom and captivity, and the nature of story-telling ? but most of all it is the study of a profound and remarkable love between an elephant and a human being.Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Historical Books
Pirate Latitudes: A Novelby Michael Crichton
Harper; Published: 2009-11-24; Roughcut; Book
Best price: $2.49
Price in other shops:
The Master Butchers Singing Club: A Novelby Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.83
Price in other shops:
The Last Witchfinder: A Novelby James Morrow
William Morrow; Published: 2006-03-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Zorroby Isabel Allende
HarperAudio; Published: 2005-05-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $3.12
Price in other shops:
The Hot Kid: A Novelby Elmore Leonard
William Morrow; Published: 2005-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops:
The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)Mass Market Paperback; Book
Bones of the Hills (Conqueror, Book 3)by Conn Iggulden
Harper Collins Canada; Published: 2008; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $44.70
Marchby Geraldine Brooks
Penguin Books; Published: 2006; Paperback; Book
Emperor (Emperor 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2003-06-07; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.80
Girl With a Pearl Earringby Tracy Chevalier
Harper Collins Audio; Published: 2002-06-17; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $86.82
Similar Books and other products
An Inconvenient Elephant: A Novelby Judy Reene Singer
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2010-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.27
Price in other shops:
The Last Chinese Chef: A Novelby Nicole Mones
Mariner Books; Published: 2008-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.44
Price in other shops:
An Inconvenient Elephant: A Novelby Judy Reene Singer
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2010-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.18
Price in other shops:
A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dogby Dean Koontz
Hyperion; Published: 2009-08-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.55
Price in other shops:
Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversariesby Steven Weinberg
Harvard University Press; Published: 2003-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.86
Price in other shops:
A Traveller In Italyby H.v. Morton, Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Da Capo Press; Published: 2002-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the Worldby Paul Chambers
Steerforth; Published: 2009-02-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.11
Price in other shops:
Hannah's Dream: A Novelby Diane Hammond
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2008-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.04
Price in other shops:
Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Livedby Ralph Helfer
Harper Perennial; Published: 1998-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
The Cowboy and His Elephant: The Story of a Remarkable Friendshipby Malcolm Macpherson
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2002-09-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops: