Thus begins The Elephant Keeper‚ a memorable account of an extraordinary relationship between a female elephant and her keeper‚ a young stable boy. Set in late 18th century England‚ it follows them from the Bristol docks to one landed estate in the countryside‚ then to another - then‚ finally‚ to London.
It is a novel about sexuality and violence‚ freedom and captivity‚ and about the nature of story-telling‚ but most of all it is the story of an unlikely but wonderful love between a man and an animal - a love which has its costs as well as its rewards.
