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.
關於作者：
Michael Allin lives in Madrid, Spain. He is at work on a book
chronicling the history of silk.
目錄：
PROLOGUE
1 TWO AFRICAS
2 A FASCINATING NIGHTMARE
3 THE RENAISSANCE BARBARIAN
4 STEALING EGYPT
5 A ROYAL GIFT
6 THE SEA OF MILK
7 FAREWELLS
8 CAMELOPARD
9 AcRoss SLEEPING MARSEILLE
10 SOIREES A LA GIRAFE
11 HAPPIER EVERY DAY
12 MISDEMEANORS OF CURIOSITY
13 A BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
14 TRUE TO HIS WORD
15 THE DEGREE OF HAPPINESS
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ART CREDITS
INDEX
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