ZSL London Zoo New book about "Jumbo"

Tim May

Tim May

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I wasn’t really sure whether to post this in the London Zoo forum or the “TV, Movies, Books about Zoos & Wildlife” forum. However ZooChatters may be interested to know that new book has recently been published about London Zoo’s famous African elephant.

“Jumbo: The Unauthorised Biography of a Victorian Sensation”
(John Sutherland; Aurum Press Ltd; 2014)

I already have three books about this particular elephant. It will be interesting to see what new information the author can add to an often-told story.
 
I'm glad that you put it in the TV forum, Tim, as I might not have seen it in the London Zoo forum. It sounds like an interesting book, and thanks for bringing it to our attention.
 
“Jumbo: The Unauthorised Biography of a Victorian Sensation”

Subsequent to my earlier post, at the start of this thread, I have now acquired and read a copy of this book.

In my previous post, I wondered what new information another biography of “Jumbo” could add to this oft-told tale. Confusingly, though, despite the book’s title “Jumbo: The Unauthorised Biography of a Victorian Sensation” the author emphasises at the start of the book that is not a biography of “Jumbo”.

Personally, I was rather disappointed by this volume and, unfortunately, it is not one that I would particularly recommend.

Anyway, this book certainly includes some rather strange statements; two examples follow:-

According to this book it is uncertain whether African and Asian elephants are two distinct species or simply varieties of a single species……

Elsewhere the book informs us that the London Zoo’s Casson Elephant House was used a bomb shelter during the war – notwithstanding the fact that this structure was built in the mid nineteen sixties, twenty years after the war ended!
 
Tim May said:
Subsequent to my earlier post, at the start of this thread, I have now acquired and read a copy of this book.

In my previous post, I wondered what new information another biography of “Jumbo” could add to this oft-told tale. Confusingly, though, despite the book’s title “Jumbo: The Unauthorised Biography of a Victorian Sensation” the author emphasises at the start of the book that is not a biography of “Jumbo”.

Personally, I was rather disappointed by this book and, unfortunately, it is not one that I would particularly recommend.

Anyway, this book certainly includes some rather strange statements; two examples follow:-

According to this book it is uncertain whether African and Asian elephants are two distinct species or simply varieties of a single species……

Elsewhere the book informs us that the London Zoo’s Casson Elephant House was used a bomb shelter during the war – notwithstanding the fact that this structure was built in the mid nineteen sixties, twenty years after the war ended!
Click to expand...

Yikes. It doesn't sound like the author even bothered reading Wikipedia articles, much less doing actual research.
 
Tim May said:
According to this book it is uncertain whether African and Asian elephants are two distinct species or simply varieties of a single species…..Elsewhere the book informs us that the London Zoo’s Casson Elephant House was used a bomb shelter during the war – notwithstanding the fact that this structure was built in the mid nineteen sixties, twenty years after the war ended!
Click to expand...

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Methinks the book might be useful as a light read for amusing oneself with the inaccuracies and downright untruths then :p
 
It struck me as odd that the present book has been published so comparatively soon after Paul Chambers' effort.

Jumbo: this being the true story of The Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived drew upon the Jolly's Jumbo (1976). I found it compelling reading: thoroughly researched, easy to read and provided a comprehensible insight into the atmosphere of the ZSL and associated personnel of the time. It was my favourite book of 2009 - the year I read it. Indeed, unless some major new evidence has come to light in the subsequent seven years, I don't know how Chamber's book could have been bettered.

I have a copy of the Jolly book, have not read it yet so can't comment on how it compares, but did purchase a reproduced copy of Scott's autobiography on the back of reading Chambers. Despite being the semi-literate, highly subjective ramblings of an embittered (and some would say rightly so) former-elephant keeper, it is invaluable to piecing together the bigger picture of Jumbo's story. It should be sought out for completeness as, I suppose, should the current Sutherland tome.
 
Tim May said:
Elsewhere the book informs us that the London Zoo’s Casson Elephant House was used a bomb shelter during the war – notwithstanding the fact that this structure was built in the mid nineteen sixties, twenty years after the war ended!
Click to expand...

Possibly confusion with the previous Elephant 'House' where the indoor was underground? But no excuse for getting it wrong.
 
I got to chapter three and gave up...apparently the Exeter Exchange was Britains "first public zoo"(!),the author got in a complete tangle about the Jardin des Plantes and Versailles-and seems to see nothing wrong in Loxodonta Africana(sic).He is also anti-zoo-don't waste your money.
 
Paradoxurus said:
It struck me as odd that the present book has been published so comparatively soon after Paul Chambers' effort.

Jumbo: this being the true story of The Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived drew upon the Jolly's Jumbo (1976). I found it compelling reading: thoroughly researched, easy to read and provided a comprehensible insight into the atmosphere of the ZSL and associated personnel of the time. It was my favourite book of 2009 - the year I read it. Indeed, unless some major new evidence has come to light in the subsequent seven years, I don't know how Chamber's book could have been bettered.

I have a copy of the Jolly book, have not read it yet so can't comment on how it compares, but did purchase a reproduced copy of Scott's autobiography on the back of reading Chambers. Despite being the semi-literate, highly subjective ramblings of an embittered (and some would say rightly so) former-elephant keeper, it is invaluable to piecing together the bigger picture of Jumbo's story. It should be sought out for completeness as, I suppose, should the current Sutherland tome.
Click to expand...

Yes I have both of these books:-

• Jumbo (W. P. Jolly; 1976)
• Jumbo: the Greatest Elephant in the World (Paul Chambers; 2007)

(And, of course, I also have that children’s book about 'Jumbo' that I got from you a few years ago.)

I entirely agree with your comments about the book by Paul Chambers; it is an excellent volume, thoroughly recommended. Jolly’s book is well worth reading too.

Frustratingly, I have never seen Matthew Scott’s autobiography but I’m sure it is fascinating. Original copies are extremely scarce and, on the rare occasions they come on sale, very expensive but didn’t realise that reproductions were available. Now I know I’ll have to look out for one

Presumably Matthew Scott's autobiography concentrates on his involvement with 'Jumbo'; does it provide much information about the early days, before Scott started work at London Zoo, when he worked for the Earl of Derby as a keeper at the Knowsley Menagerie? That would be very interesting, possibly more interesting than the ‘Jumbo’ saga.
 
Tim May said:
I wasn’t really sure whether to post this in the London Zoo forum or the “TV, Movies, Books about Zoos & Wildlife” forum. However ZooChatters may be interested to know that new book has recently been published about London Zoo’s famous African elephant.

“Jumbo: The Unauthorised Biography of a Victorian Sensation”
(John Sutherland; Aurum Press Ltd; 2014)
Click to expand...

I find it hard to understand how a biography of a long-deceased pachyderm could be authorised.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
I find it hard to understand how a biography of a long-deceased pachyderm could be authorised.

Alan
Click to expand...

It involves time travel, cross-species legal communications, and consultations with nasty literary agents. Getting authorization would have been a major headache.
 
Tim May said:
Frustratingly, I have never seen Matthew Scott’s autobiography but I’m sure it is fascinating. Original copies are extremely scarce and, on the rare occasions they come on sale, very expensive but didn’t realise that reproductions were available. Now I know I’ll have to look out for one
Click to expand...

Further to my earlier post I have discovered that the full text of Matthew Scott’s autobiography is available on-line.

If you Google:-

• Open Library Matthew Scott Jumbo

you should locate it.
 
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