Jumbo: The Unauthorised Biography of a Victorian Sensation

The first comprehensive 'biography' of one of the first celebrity animals who gave us one of our favourite words.  Jumbo, Victorian England's favourite elephant, was born in 1861 in French Sudan, imported to a Parisian zoo and later sold on to London, where – for seventeen years – he dutifully gave children rides and ate buns from their hands, all the while being tortured at night to keep him docile. Worldwide fame came when he was bought by the American showman and scam artist P.T. Barnum in 1881, despite letters from 100,000 British schoolchildren who wrote to Queen Victoria begging  her to prevent the sale. Barnum went on to transform Jumbo into a lucrative circus act and one of the most loved animals of all time, establishing elephants as a regular feature of funhouses and menageries the world over.    Using the heartwrenching story of Jumbo's celebrity life, tragic death in Canada in 1885, and his enduring cultural legacy,  Jumbo  is personal and fascinating reflection on our cultural elephantiasis by one of our most distinguished literary-critical detectives, which is guaranteed to amuse, stimulate, provoke and delight in equal measure.

About the Author :
John Sutherland, described by Claire Tomalin as "the sharpest and wittiest of literary commentators", is Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus, UCL, and has for many years been a visiting professor at the Californian Institute of Technology. He is the author of many books and more editions than he cares to count. He writes and reviews widely in the UK and the US. His most recent books are: The Boy who Loved Books (2007), Magic Moments (2008), Curiosities of Literature (2008), The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction, 2nd Edition (2009), 50 Ideas in Literature You Really Need to Know (2010, with Stephen Fender). He's currently working on Lives of the Novelists.     

Review :
'Sutherland's fascinating and eclectic book is a fitting tribute to Loxodonta africana and it deftly evokes the manifold and ever more pressing threats to the species.' -- Philip Hoare, Samuel Johnson Prize-winning author of Leviathan, or, The Whale. New Statesman 'Elegant cultural history. Jumbo is a compelling portrait of a wonderful creature and less wonderful human motivation.' -- Tristan Quinn TLS 'A wonderfully engaging and learned narrator.' -- Katie Law Evening Standard 'It is a "fantasia". Or rather, an "elephantasia". The word sets the tone. The author, a former professor of English at University College London, is out to entertain-punning, digressing, mixing it up, high and low. But, behind the banter, he has a savage story to tell.' Economist 'It's a fascinating story, told stylishly and wittily.' -- Bernard Porter Guardian 'I can think of nobody better to trumpet the elephant than Sutherland. Academic yet conversational, and at times very funny, he is the perfect guide.' -- Stephen Griffin Sunday Express 'Hugely entertaining survey of Jumbo's sad life and strange legacy.' -- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst Daily Telegraph 'This book is so wonderful, so charming, I promise it will allow everyone to find the little Jumbo inside themselves.' -- Helen Rumbelow The Times 'This isn't just a book about killing elephants; it's a book about being horrible to elephants in more general ways. It's very good. It's one of those books that shows you the world through the lens of a small part of it. Sutherland's tone throughout is one of dry wit; the track where Jumbo died, he points out, was known as 'the grand trunk'. Sutherland makes Jumbo his main character, and shows us that by looking at this elephant's life, and the lives of other captive elephants, you can learn a lot about people too. It's a tall tale. And rather superbly put together.' -- William Leith Spectator 'A treasure trove of elephant ephemera with eye-popping statistics on trunks, dung, sex and characters from Chunee, Jumbo's popular show animal predecessor in London, to Disney's fictional Dumbo. The best of the details are fascinating.' -- Louise Jury Independent