Jamrach's Menagerie
Encyclopedia
Jamrach's Menagerie is a 2011 novel by Carol Birch
. The novel has been referred to as historical fiction
, since it features certain real life characters, such as naturalist Charles Jamrach
.
The novel was short-listed for the 2011 Man Booker Prize
.
, wandering about London's East End. Taken up in the tiger's jaws, he is rescued by Jamrach himself, who then offers Jaffy a job. Jaffy loves working at the menagerie and becomes friends with another employee, Tim Linver. He falls in love with Tim's sister and the three of them grow up together on the streets of London.
Several years later, when Jaffy is sixteen, he and Tim are dispatched by Jamrach to the Dutch East Indies
, aboard a whaling ship. Under the charge of Jamrach's seasoned field agent, Dan Rymer, they have been sent to capture a "dragon
" for the menagerie. The crew successfully capture the dragon, but on the return voyage it is set loose by Skip, one of the ship's mad crewmen, and after it bites a crew member they are forced to drive it overboard. Later the vessel is struck by a waterspout
and sunk, leaving only a dozen men alive, stranded in the Pacific Ocean
in two whaleboats. The two boats make for the coast of Chile
, and as the crew gradually begin to die of starvation, thirst and exposure, they resort to cannibalism
. Eventually only Jaffy, Tim, Skip and Dan are left alive, and they draw straws to see who will be killed and eaten. Tim draws the short straw, and Jaffy kills him, an act which will haunt him for the rest of his life. Eventually Skip also dies, and by the time Dan and Jaffy arrive in Chile they are half-dead with exhaustion and half-mad from grief and anguish.
In the book's coda, Jaffy returns home, faces Tim's family, and goes through a long period of depression and ennui. He eventually returns to life as a sailor, and in his retirement constructs a bird menagerie of his own.
was a real historical figure who operated a menagerie in east London in the 19th century, and at one point a Bengal tiger
escaped and took an eight-year old boy in its mouth. This event is depicted by a statue in Tobacco Dock
in Wapping
. Jamrach personally rescued the boy from the tiger.
The ordeal of the crew in the lifeboats is largely based on the notorious shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex
, which was sunk by a sperm whale
in 1820. A sixteen-year old sailor named Charles Ramsdell shot his childhood friend Owen Coffin
after the drawing of straws. Coffin, like Tim, insisted on the deal being honoured. Ramsdell survived the incident, and returned to life as a sailor.
Carol Birch
Carol Birch is a British novelist and attended Keele University. The author of eleven novels, she won the 1988 David Higham Award for the Best First Novel of the Year for Life in the Palace, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize with The Fog Line in 1991, and she was long-listed for the 2003 ManBooker...
. The novel has been referred to as historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
, since it features certain real life characters, such as naturalist Charles Jamrach
Charles Jamrach
Charles Jamrach was a leading dealer in wild animals, birds and shells in 19th century London. His nearest rival was Edward Cross, who ran the menagerie at Exeter Exchange in the Strand....
.
The novel was short-listed for the 2011 Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
.
Plot
At the age of eight, Jaffy Brown encounters a tiger escaped from the menagerie of Charles JamrachCharles Jamrach
Charles Jamrach was a leading dealer in wild animals, birds and shells in 19th century London. His nearest rival was Edward Cross, who ran the menagerie at Exeter Exchange in the Strand....
, wandering about London's East End. Taken up in the tiger's jaws, he is rescued by Jamrach himself, who then offers Jaffy a job. Jaffy loves working at the menagerie and becomes friends with another employee, Tim Linver. He falls in love with Tim's sister and the three of them grow up together on the streets of London.
Several years later, when Jaffy is sixteen, he and Tim are dispatched by Jamrach to the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, aboard a whaling ship. Under the charge of Jamrach's seasoned field agent, Dan Rymer, they have been sent to capture a "dragon
Komodo dragon
The Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
" for the menagerie. The crew successfully capture the dragon, but on the return voyage it is set loose by Skip, one of the ship's mad crewmen, and after it bites a crew member they are forced to drive it overboard. Later the vessel is struck by a waterspout
Waterspout
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water. While it is often weaker than most of its land counterparts, stronger versions spawned by mesocyclones do occur...
and sunk, leaving only a dozen men alive, stranded in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in two whaleboats. The two boats make for the coast of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and as the crew gradually begin to die of starvation, thirst and exposure, they resort to cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
. Eventually only Jaffy, Tim, Skip and Dan are left alive, and they draw straws to see who will be killed and eaten. Tim draws the short straw, and Jaffy kills him, an act which will haunt him for the rest of his life. Eventually Skip also dies, and by the time Dan and Jaffy arrive in Chile they are half-dead with exhaustion and half-mad from grief and anguish.
In the book's coda, Jaffy returns home, faces Tim's family, and goes through a long period of depression and ennui. He eventually returns to life as a sailor, and in his retirement constructs a bird menagerie of his own.
Historical references
Charles JamrachCharles Jamrach
Charles Jamrach was a leading dealer in wild animals, birds and shells in 19th century London. His nearest rival was Edward Cross, who ran the menagerie at Exeter Exchange in the Strand....
was a real historical figure who operated a menagerie in east London in the 19th century, and at one point a Bengal tiger
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
escaped and took an eight-year old boy in its mouth. This event is depicted by a statue in Tobacco Dock
Tobacco Dock
Tobacco Dock is a grade I listed warehouse in Wapping, London Docklands. It was constructed in approximately 1811 and served as a store for imported tobacco. It is a brick building with many brick vaults and some fine ironwork...
in Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
. Jamrach personally rescued the boy from the tiger.
The ordeal of the crew in the lifeboats is largely based on the notorious shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex
Whaleship Essex
Obed HendricksBenjamin LawrenceStewardWilliam BondSailorsOwen CoffinIsaac ColeHenry De Witt*Richard PetersonCharles RamsdellBarzillai RaySamuel ReedIsaiah SheppardCharles ShorterLawson ThomasSeth WeeksJoseph WestWilliam Wright...
, which was sunk by a sperm whale
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
in 1820. A sixteen-year old sailor named Charles Ramsdell shot his childhood friend Owen Coffin
Owen Coffin
Owen Coffin was a 17-year-old sailor aboard the Nantucket whaleship Essex when it set sail for the Pacific Ocean on a sperm whale-hunting expedition in August 1819, under the command of his cousin, George Pollard, Jr...
after the drawing of straws. Coffin, like Tim, insisted on the deal being honoured. Ramsdell survived the incident, and returned to life as a sailor.