Zarafa : a giraffe's story by Michael Allin

In October 1826, a ship arrived at Marseille carrying the first giraffe ever seen in France. A royal offering from Muhammad Ali, Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, to King Charles X, she had already traveled 2,000 miles down the Nile to Alexandria, from where she had sailed across the Mediterranean standing in the hold, her long neck and head protruding through a hole cut in the deck. In the spring of 1827, after wintering in Marseille, she was carefully walked 550 miles to Paris to the delight of thousands of onlookers. The viceroy's tribute was politically motivated: He commanded the Turkish forces then fighting the Greeks in their war of independence, and hoped his gift would persuade the French not to intervene against him. But the viceroy and his intentions were quickly forgotten as France fell in love with its beautiful stranger. Zarafa chronicles the full story of this remarkable animal, revealing a kaleidoscope of history, science, and culture that opens an exotic window on the early nineteenth century. From the Enlightenment's blossoming fascination with science to Napoleon's ill-fated invasion of Egypt in 1798-from the eminent French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to Bernardino Drovetti, French consul general in Egypt and tomb robber extraordinaire-the era was full of memorable events and characters. Michael Allin deftly weaves them into the story with an appreciation for detail and an uncommon affection. The giraffe's strange and wonderful journey linked Africa and Europe in mutual discovery. Although her arrival did not keep the French out of Ali's war, she became an instant celebrity in Paris and over the next eighteen years she fascinated all of Europe. Through Michael Allin's narrative skill, Zarafa stirs the imagination as it provides a new context for the history of a distant age. Editorial Reviews Amazon com Review Zarafa was a gentle 19th-century giraffe, a simple animal whose life was dictated by the tumultuous times around her. From the African savanna where she was caught and tamed as an infant, Zarafa was shipped down the Nile--along with the meat of her mother and several hundred human slaves--to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. From there she sailed on to France, a gift from Muhammad Ali, the Renaissance Barbarian viceroy of Egypt, intended to distract King Charles X while Egyptian forces invaded Greece. As political ploy, it didn't work. But as ambassador from an exotic land, this odd animal captivated the French people for almost two decades, as she lived out her life as part of the royal menagerie. Michael Allin intertwines natural history with a brutal chapter in the history of civilization, augmenting the clarity of both. This story of one docile animal contrasts sharply with those of the human profiteers, warmongers, and interlopers who ultimately decide her fate. But Zarafa's otherworldly charm also helps us to understand the intrigue that led Napoleon to bring not only his troops, but a small army of European intellectuals to study all aspects of Egyptian culture and history, in the invasion that sets up her story. --Lauran Cole Warner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Review Zarafa is all about the vanishing pleasure of wonderment -- as seen through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed the arrival of the first giraffe in France in 1826. -- Detroit Free Press --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly The baby giraffe was captured in the highlands of Ethiopia and taken to Khartoum. She sailed down the Nile to Alexandria and across the Mediterranean to Marseilles, where she wintered. In April 1827, Zarafa started a 550-mile walk to Paris. She was accompanied by her Nubian handler, three milk cows, two Mouflon sheep, an antelope and one of the foremost scientists of the time, Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire. Zarafa was a gift to Charles X from the Ottoman viceroy to Egypt, Muhammad Ali, who wanted to forge a link with France. The gift was masterminded by Bernardino Dravetti, French consul, personal adviser to the viceroy and the first wholesale tomb robber of modern Egyptology. After 41 days on the road, Zarafa and her party arrived to a triumphant welcome in Paris, where she remained a star at the Jardin des Plantes for the next 18 years. In his first book, Allin spins an enchanting story of Zarafa's journey through the Gallic countryside?the first giraffe in France drew crowds everywhere (30,000 in Lyons). To place the animal's odyssey in perspective, he provides a richly textured background of historical detail, starting with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 and his corps des savants, who were stranded there for three years. This endearing work will appeal to all animal lovers, and also to those interested in the confluences of natural and human history. Thirty drawings, maps and images not seen by PW. BOMC, QPB and History Book Club selections; author tour. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From The Washington Post [Allin's] book ... not only rescues a charming anecdote from obscurity but also makes a convincing case for its importance in the world of 19th-century Mediterranean diplomacy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Kirkus Reviews In 1827, a giraffe sailed from Egypt to Marseille. It then walked to Paris. It was France's first giraffe, and this is Allin's first book. Both events are worthy of note, trailing surprise and pleasure in their wake. Allin tells the story of Zarafa, a giraffe sent to France's King Charles X by the viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali. Ali had recently invaded Greece, and Europe was angry at the move; Zarafa was meant to insinuate Ali into the king's favor by gracing the royal menagerie with an exotic. This all came about from a combination of circumstance and personality, both of which Allin ably delineates: the post-Napoleonic Egyptomania that gripped France; the cultured pirate Bernardino Drovetti, French consul general to Egypt, who trafficked in exotic animals and mummies; Ali himself, erstwhile Albanian mercenary, Francophile, up-from-nothing barbarian who consolidated his power from Nubia to Syria, and under whose reign Egypt went from the Stone Age to the Enlightenment''; Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, scientific wunderkind of the Institut de France. And, of course, there is the giraffe (Zarafa is the Arabic-derived name Allin gives the beast): her capture as a calf, her journey via camel, Nile felucca, seagoing brigantine, and her own four legs'' to Paris and celebrity, a monumental addition to the national cabinet de curiositis, an instant infatuation that generated vaudeville skits, hair styles, and the naming of a form of influenza in her honor. In the process, Allin gives readers glimpses of Napoleon's corps de savants; histories of Alexandria, Messina, the Ptolemies; a fine caricature of European bureaucratic maneuvering in the early 19th century; and, not least, a superb description of the sea's colors off Alexandria (Allin traced the route). Allin shares a talent seen in two other recent Walker books, Dava Sobel's Longitude and James deKay's Monitor: the ability to make an obscure subject incandescent through crisp storytelling and a felicitous handling of arcane details. (illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ®1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal In 1826, Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, sent a giraffe to King Charles X of France. The giraffe, born in the Sudan, had to be transported 3500 miles down the Nile, across the Mediterranean, and from the port of Marseilles to Paris. There she caused a sensation and then lived for 18 years in Le Jardin des Plantes. Allin fleshes out this episode, tracing the route taken by the giraffe (whom he dubs Zarafa, the Arabic name for giraffe) and providing brief biographies of such notables as Ali; Bernardino Drovetti, the French consul in Egypt; and 'Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, the founder of the Paris zoo. The first half of the book, concerning the French adventures in Africa, is the most interesting, whereas the long section minutely detailing Zarafa's trek across France seems a bit like overkill. While not an essential purchase, this first book by a former screenwriter provides a glimpse of a time period not commonly written about and would be worth considering for historical or history of science collections.?Beth Clewis Crim, Prince William P.L., VA Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From the Back Cover It was the Age of Enlightenment. And in Paris, a gentle, wide-eyed stranger was all the rage.... In 1826, a twelve-foot giraffe, captured in the Sudan, shipped down the Nile, carried across the Mediterranean in a ship's hold, was now walking across France. A gift from Muhammed Ali, the most powerful man in Africa, this beautiful stranger would become an object of adoration in France. But in this compelling, beautifully rendered book, Michael Allin looks beyond the fairy tale to reveal the complex web of politics, culture, religion, and greed that fueled the phenomenon of the giraffe called Zarafa. Opening an exotic window on the early nineteenth century, brilliantly capturing what it is like to see something for the very first time, Zarafa weaves a captivating tale of nations and nature, of colorful scoundrels and dangerous rulers -- and of a remarkable animal that charmed a nation, bribed a leader, and brought two very different worlds together. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. About the Author Michael Allin is the author of Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris and the novel The Christmas Kid. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.