The Elephant Keeper

Synopsis: '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.

Review: I love Elephants, they're probably my favourite wild animal and so I found this book both really enjoyable and incredibly sad in places. Tom Page is a stable boy at Harrington Hall in Somersetshire. When his master buys a couple of Elephants fresh off the boat (or not very fresh actually, they had suffered terribly during the journey) Tom is given the job of looking after them. To most of the other workers the Elephants are creatures to be feared or a curiosity. This is the 18th century and hardly anyone in England has ever even seen a picture of an Elephant, but Tom falls in love with them and with time and patience creates a special bond. He calls them (secretly) Jenny and Timothy and his life begins to revolve entirely around them to the detriment of his relations with his family and his sweetheart Lizzy.

Timothy's behaviour gives cause for concern, he is 'on heat' and during this time becomes aggressive and unmanageable, even Tom struggles to pacify him. This along with the financial strain caused by the upkeep of the Elephants and several unfortunate incidents and accidents involving them, leads to Tom's master deciding to sell them both. Unfortunately they are parted, Timothy is sent in a packing crate to Lincolnshire and a few weeks later Jenny is sold to Lord Bidborough in Sussex. Tom is given the choice to either stay at Harrington Hall or accompany Jenny to Sussex. Much to his mother's and Lizzy's dismay, Tom decides to go with Jenny to Sussex. Lizzy's words burn in his ear ...

'Tom, you cannot tie yourself for ever to an Elephant. You cannot spend the rest of your life caring for an Elephant - You cannot, it is unnatural. She is only an Elephant'

But Tom is adamant, however much he feels for his family and Lizzy, it is as nothing compared to the love and responsibility he feels towards Jenny.

It is Lord Bidborough who asks Tom to write a History of the Elephant (and this we read in the introduction), and after writing a few stilted phrases such as 'the Elephant is, without dispute, the largest creature in the world' and 'Its ears are broad while it's skin is generally grey' Tom decides it would be better if he wrote the history in journal form starting with the day he first met them and bringing it right up to date and adding to it each day (which is in effect what we read for the first half of the book).

It's a pretty idyllic life for Tom and Jenny in Sussex but nothing good lasts forever and eventually a series of misfortunes lead to Jenny being sold on again, and again and again. It's at this point that you realise how much Tom's own life has been put on hold and how his devotion to Jenny has cost him a chance of a happy family life himself, or even a stable and settled life (no pun intended). Before he leaves Sussex he enquires after Timothy and he eventually intercepts a letter detailing what happened to the bull Elephant after he left Somersetshire.

The book gets sadder and sadder, Tom and Jenny end up in London in a badly kept and badly run menagerie, and I found the accounts of the sad, malnourished animals doing tricks or being forced to entertain the meagre crowds almost unbearable. You just keep hoping that something will happen to release them from their misery .. it's torturous reading. Tom is old by now and he worries about what will become of him if he loses Jenny and worries even more about what will become of Jenny if she loses him.

It's an easy, undemanding read, though very sad in places. It is a bit patchy, there are times when it rambles on too long and others where you would like a bit more detail. But the lovely way in which it describes the relationship between Tom and Jenny/Timothy makes it a great read, especially if you love Elephant's.