Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World
Registered by glade1 of McLeansville, North Carolina USA on 6/3/2012
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Bought a while back at Dollar Tree. From the flap:
Jumbo was a superstar of the Victorian era. Every day tens of thousands of people would visit this adored animal known as “the Children’s Pet” or, more simply, “the Giant Elephant,” at the London Zoo. When P.T. Barnum purchased him for his Greatest Show on Earth, Jumbo’s transport to the U.S. made headlines for weeks, and he was an instant sensation in America. His name entered our lexicon as an adjective for oversized things, and half a century after his death his still-famous and unrivalled popularity was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Dumbo. But fame comes at a price and, like so many modern celebrities, Jumbo led a troubled private life that was far from idyllic. His best friend – a zookeeper named Matthew Scott, who remained by Jumbo’s side in Britain and the United States for twenty years – was moody and manipulative, and Jumbo himself attracted rumors of violent tantrums, a fondness for drink, and of a “wife” he left behind in order to make it big in America.
From an eyewitness account of Jumbo’s capture in Africa after ivory hunters had killed his parents, to his early years at the Paris zoo where he was mistreated and regarded as a disappointing runt, to his stunning growth spurt in London where he became the largest elephant in captivity, to the “Jumbo craze” that swept across Britain and the United States, Paul Chambers utilizes new archival material in fully telling Jumbo’s story for the first time.
Jumbo was a superstar of the Victorian era. Every day tens of thousands of people would visit this adored animal known as “the Children’s Pet” or, more simply, “the Giant Elephant,” at the London Zoo. When P.T. Barnum purchased him for his Greatest Show on Earth, Jumbo’s transport to the U.S. made headlines for weeks, and he was an instant sensation in America. His name entered our lexicon as an adjective for oversized things, and half a century after his death his still-famous and unrivalled popularity was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Dumbo. But fame comes at a price and, like so many modern celebrities, Jumbo led a troubled private life that was far from idyllic. His best friend – a zookeeper named Matthew Scott, who remained by Jumbo’s side in Britain and the United States for twenty years – was moody and manipulative, and Jumbo himself attracted rumors of violent tantrums, a fondness for drink, and of a “wife” he left behind in order to make it big in America.
From an eyewitness account of Jumbo’s capture in Africa after ivory hunters had killed his parents, to his early years at the Paris zoo where he was mistreated and regarded as a disappointing runt, to his stunning growth spurt in London where he became the largest elephant in captivity, to the “Jumbo craze” that swept across Britain and the United States, Paul Chambers utilizes new archival material in fully telling Jumbo’s story for the first time.
Excellent story of one of the first African elephants in Europe in the modern era. I was fascinated by Jumbo's keeper, Matthew Scott, who did not seem to fall into the category of animal keepers I think of when I envision the Victorian Era. Scott loved Jumbo and spent nearly all his time with the elephant, probably too much time. But it was better than the tiny cages and cruel treatment one usually hears of. Jumbo certainly left an imprint on the world!
Journal Entry 3 by glade1 at Cone Health Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina USA on Friday, September 30, 2022
Released 1 yr ago (9/30/2022 UTC) at Cone Health Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina USA
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BookCrossing is a community of readers with a mission to share books by "releasing" them into the wild, as well as trading and sharing with each other. Our forums are a wonderful place to chat with other readers about what you are reading and anything else that's on your mind. It's lots of fun!
Once you are finished with this book, please take the time to make another journal entry telling what you thought about it and where it's going next. Thanks!