The Zoo by Isobel Charman will feature on the Radio 2 Fact not Fiction Book Club on Thursday 1 December.
The book was selected with help from a panel of brilliant library staff from across the UK. Find out more about the non-fiction strand of the Radio 2 Book Club.
You can win 10 copies of The Zoo for your reading group – just visit our Noticeboard.
We have an exclusive extract available for you to read as well as some discussion questions for your reading group.
The Zoo
The creation of a zoo in Dickensian London – the first ‘zoo’ in history – is a story of jaw-dropping audacity. It is the story of trailblazing scientists, rival keepers and aristocratic naturalists collecting amazing animals from all around the world – and sending them to what was dubbed ‘the ark’ by the mocking press.
Telling this almost unbelievable true story, Isobel Charman depicts a highly colourful but often forgotten moment in cultural history, through the eyes of extraordinary characters both famous and unfamiliar – from Stamford Raffles, Lord Derby and a young Charles Darwin, to the medical attendant, the head keeper and the showman across town.
And then there are the animals! Based on unprecedented research, Charman describes Tommy the chimpanzee who lived, homesick, in his keepers’ house; the giraffes that walked through the city and were scared by cows; and Obaysch the celebrity hippo, the first that anyone in Britain had ever seen.
Against a background of domestic reform and industrialisation, this is the thoroughly refreshing story of the weird and wonderful oasis at the heart of a global empire. It’s a new history of a new world.
Selection panel review
Our library reading panel found The Zoo to be very interesting – here are some of their comments:
“This was an interesting book because London Zoo is now so keen to promote itself as a conservation zoo that how it actually started is forgotten. I found the way the story progressed by following prominent figures in the creation of the zoo a great narrative structure and the tales of mistakes made a reminder of just how far we have come. I went to the zoo shortly after reading the book and loved spotting the original buildings and knowing more about the place.”
“Although I was saddened by the initial difficulty in keeping the animals safe and well, this was a fascinating insight into how an institution that we take for granted today came into being. The different viewpoints from a vet, and architect, and even Charles Darwin, gave it an interesting range of viewpoints.”
About the author
Isobel Charman is an award-winning television producer. She has spent the last decade working in factual documentary production as a writer, researcher, producer and director and has worked on award-winning films for UK, European and US broadcasters. For The Zoo she has made unprecedented use of the vast archives at the Zoological Society of London. She lives in London.
A word from Isobel
“I am very excited – and it’s fair to say, a little overawed – that The Zoo has been chosen to feature in the Radio 2 Book Club. The book was always intended to be an accessible, enjoyable read rather than a history book and I take the fact that it’s been chosen as proof that I’ve achieved that to some degree (because if anyone knows their stuff, it’s librarians!).
For me, history is about people, their emotions and their experiences – and should therefore be engaging and entertaining, rather than dry and factual. I set out to write a book that would drop us into the midst of a remarkable, colourful world, and whisk us off on adventures with characters that we care about. I hope readers will learn a little along the way about the era and the backdrop of Regency/ Victorian London and the rather mad mission of setting up the zoo – but most of all, I hope they enjoy reading this wild and wonderful tale as much as I enjoyed writing it."
Get involved
Tune in to the Radio 2 Arts Show with Jonathan Ross on Thursday 1 December to hear an interview with Isobel Charman talking about her book.
Do you want to read The Zoo? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter using #FactNotFiction, or follow Isobel. You can also see what other readers thought, or add the book to your group’s reading list.
Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed or find out more on the Radio 2 Book Club website
