BY JAMIE FOSTER
Barclay Price’s Nature’s Great Masterpiece, published by Amberley Books, is a delightfully esoteric and meticulously researched gem that unearths a truly surprising strand of British social history. As the subtitle clarifies, this is not a pastoral ramble through the countryside, but a captivating chronicle of the pachyderms that have walked, trumpeted, and occasionally rampaged through our island story. Price takes the reader on an engrossing exploration of the animal’s associations with Britain, beginning with the sobering fact that mammoths and straight-tusked elephants once roamed prehistoric Britain before extinction, and that there is even reference to Roman war elephants being used on our shores.
The narrative truly comes alive with the arrival of the first explicitly recorded elephant in 1255, a gift to King Henry III that was kept in the Tower of London.
From that point, Price charts a fascinating journey through medieval wonder, the rise of early menageries and circuses, and the age of the performing elephant. The book is punctuated with the stories of famous individuals, none more so than the Victorian superstar Jumbo, whose life and tragic end encapsulated the public’s complex relationship with these magnificent creatures. Beyond the biographical sketches, Price expertly examines elephants in popular culture and their surprising representations in public sculptures and paintings across the country, from grand civic monuments to hidden architectural quirks.
What makes this volume so successful is its refusal to be a dry, academic tome. Instead, it is a well-researched history filled with unusual tales and fascinating facts that bring the subject to life with warmth and curiosity. The author handles the shift in public sentiment—from viewing elephants as exotic curiosities and beasts of burden to objects of sympathy and conservation—with a deft and sensitive touch, never shying away from the moral complexities of our historical treatment of these intelligent creatures.
This is a beautifully produced paperback that will appeal not only to history buffs and animal lovers, but to anyone with a taste for the quirky, overlooked corners of our national heritage. It is an irresistible invitation to look at Britain’s past through a distinctly large and wonderful new lens. This charming and enlightening book can be acquired here.