Napoleon had an orangutan called Rose, who ate turnips at the dinner table and stood when guests came into the room. She was much adored, but could not survive in Paris. A pig can be taught to differentiate between Bach and a brass band. One was once tried for murder: another saved a human’s life. An owl can turn its head two hundred and seventy degrees. They can learn to come at a whistle, and remember the signal for years, if they wish to. The creatures who share our world are stranger, smarter and more miraculous than you would believe. In this delightful collection, Katherine Rundell celebrates twelve vanishing animals, each one a wonder that she inspires us to treasure and fight for with love – because, as she argues so beguilingly: ‘The time to give up is never.’ ‘Rundell is the real deal, a writer of boundless gifts and extraordinary imaginative power.’ – Observer
