Summary

A young poet and artist by the name of William Blake traveled to the Tower from his Lambeth home to paint and rhapsodize about a Tower tiger and its "fearful symmetry"; a lion named Crowly received frequent visits from an enamored Samuel Pepys; and one visitor seen dropping in on the creatures of the Menagerie in 1389 was the man in charge of Tower upkeep during the reign of King Richard II, Geoffrey Chaucer." "Daniel Hahn's history of the Royal Menagerie in the Tower of London tells the story of the many exotic creatures who found a home in one of the world's most forbidding and infamous fortresses, and explores the way in which the concept of animal captivity for the purposes of entertainment, enlightenment, and science evolved over hundreds of years." "The Tower Menagerie provides survey of our changing attitudes toward animals, and a hugely entertaining journey through six centuries of British history."--BOOK JACKET.

A young poet and artist by the name of William Blake traveled to the Tower from his Lambeth home to paint and rhapsodize about a Tower tiger and its "fearful symmetry"; a lion named Crowly received frequent visits from an enamored Samuel Pepys; and one visitor seen dropping in on the creatures of the Menagerie in 1389 was the man in charge of Tower upkeep during the reign of King Richard II, Geoffrey Chaucer." "Daniel Hahn's history of the Royal Menagerie in the Tower of London tells the story of the many exotic creatures who found a home in one of the world's most forbidding and infamous fortresses, and explores the way in which the concept of animal captivity for the purposes of entertainment, enlightenment, and science evolved over hundreds of years." "The Tower Menagerie provides survey of our changing attitudes toward animals, and a hugely entertaining journey through six centuries of British history."--BOOK JACKET.