The Man Who Ate the Zoo: Frank Buckland: Forgotten Hero of Natural History

by Richard Girling

Overview

Frank Buckland was an extraordinary man—a surgeon, a natural historian, a sell-out lecturer, a bestselling writer, a museum curator, and a conservationist, before the concept even existed. Eccentric, revolutionary, popular, prolific, he was one of the 19th century’s authentic geniuses. He was obsessed by food security and finding ways to feed the hungry (the book recounts his many unusual experiments), and by protecting our fisheries (he can be credited with saving British fish from commercial extinction). He was one of the most original, far-sighted, and influential natural scientists of his time, held as high in public esteem as Charles Darwin. The Man Who Ate the Zoo is no conventional biography, but rather a journey back into Buckland’s life, a hunt for this forgotten man. It sets Buckland’s thinking and achievements in a rounded historical context, but views this Victorian adventurer from a modern viewpoint. It is  a celebration of the great age of natural science, one man’s genius and what, even now, can be learned from him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784701611
Publisher:	Random House UK
Publication date:	07/01/2018
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Richard Girling is an award-winning environmental journalist. He was named Specialist Writer of the Year in the UK Press Awards in 2002, and was shortlisted for the same award in 2005 and 2006. He was Journalist of the Year at the Press Gazette Environmental Press Awards in 2008 and 2009. He is the author of The Hunt for the Golden Mole. 

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Kit of Parts 5

Chapter 2 Matron's Cat 24

Chapter 3 Tiglath-pileser 45

Chapter 4 Poor Little Physie 66

Chapter 5 King Charles's Parrot 89

Chapter 6 Trouble with Rats 110

Chapter 7 Vagabond Curs of the Ocean 133

Chapter 8 Notice to Sick Porpoises 156

Chapter 9 Robinson Crusoe 179

Chapter 10 A Band of Players 201

Chapter 11 Mr Walpole's Pleasure 222

Chapter 12 Torrents of Filth 247

Chapter 13 A Pound of Flesh 269

Chapter 14 Ben, Glen and Mr Dog 296

Chapter 15 Snow in Norfolk 316

Chapter 16 Life After Death 346

Afterword 372

List of Illustrations 375

Acknowledgements 377

Index 379

Editorial Reviews

04/23/2018
Journalist Girling delivers a delightful tribute to Frank Buckland (1826–1880), an eccentric natural history pioneer in Victorian England who, despite his contributions as a popular science writer, lecturer, and curator, is now little known. Buckland’s primary goal was to identify previously unused or unknown plant and animal species as new food sources for England’s poor, and he carried this interest in strange foodstuffs into his personal life. He earned a reputation at school for cooking unique breakfasts for his classmates that included marmots, doves, and frogs; later in his career, he treated lecture attendees to rhinoceros pie. Buckland’s scientific curiosity had no boundaries—his studies extended to cobra venom, with nearly disastrous results, and an unusual postmortem to identify the cause of his father’s death. His studies turned, finally, to his life’s work—fish. The book’s detail is extraordinary, especially for an obscure historical figure, and Girling’s straightforward style, peppered with humorous anecdotes, makes for lively reading. Buckland was clearly ahead of his time, identifying looming problems of pollution and overfishing. Sadly, he “died too soon” to receive the credit due to him, but this affectionate biography provides some overdue credit to a fascinating pioneer. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Hugely entertaining." —Jeremy Paxman


"[A] tumultuously entertaining biography . . . [An] irresistibly engaging book." —Sunday Times


"A rollicking ride through eccentric Victorian England. Frank Buckland is the most engaging of subjects . . . Girling's infectious enthusiasm for his subject shines through.' —the Times


"Girling brings to rip-roaring life a fascinating Victorian figure of whom few have ever heard; I so wish I could invite Frank Buckland over for dinner." —Dave Goulson, author, A Sting in the Tale


"An irresistibly engaging account of the life of the David Attenborough of the Victorian era." —Sunday Times


“a delightful tribute.”—Publishers Weekly 


“A first-rate life history of an unjustly forgotten scientific pioneer.”—Booklist 

From the Publisher