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  • © 2014

Exhibiting Animals in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Empathy, Education, Entertainment

Palgrave Macmillan

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introduction

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 1-11
  3. The Lions of London

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 12-30
  4. Zoo, Community and Civic Pride

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 31-51
  5. Elephants in the High Street

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 52-76
  6. Animals, Wholesale and Retail

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 77-100
  7. Seeing the Elephant

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 101-125
  8. Cruelty and Compassion

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 126-154
  9. Dangerous Frolicking

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 155-178
  10. In the Lions’ Den

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 179-204
  11. Conclusion

    • Helen Cowie
    Pages 205-212
  12. Back Matter

    Pages 213-256

About this book

Exotic animals were coveted commodities in nineteenth-century Britain. Spectators flocked to zoos and menageries to see female lion tamers and hungry hippos. Helen Cowie examines zoos and travelling menageries in the period 1800-1880, using animal exhibitions to examine issues of class, gender, imperial culture and animal welfare.

Reviews

“Cowie situates the flourishing of exotic animal shows in a broader cultural context and assesses its appeal across the social classes. … Exhibiting Animals in Nineteenth-Century Britain is an insightful book – and full of good stories.” (Oliver Hochadel, The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 49 (2), June, 2016)

"This book is of significant value for both the insights it offers into animal, social and cultural history and for the questions it provokes. It enlivens our sense of the nineteenth century as a period during which the provision and, to a more uncertain degree, the reception of leisure were transformed, and broadens our understanding of nineteenth-century captive worlds and the brilliant human and non-human beats that prowled within." - Cultural and Social History

"This is a wide-ranging and truly interdisciplinary book. Its main strength is in its broad national coverage. Too often studies of zoos have focused on London alone but Cowie draws examples from across the British Isles ... This is a richly researched monograph written in clear and compelling language. It is a book that is of immense value not only to those interested in the history of animals and leisure, but Victorian and Cultural Studies scholars more genrally." - Journal of Victorian Culture

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of York, UK

    Helen Cowie

About the author

Helen Cowie is Lecturer in History at the University of York, UK. She is author of Conquering Nature in Spain and its Empire, 1750-1850 (2011).

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access