The Elephant of Belfast (US) / The Zookeeper of Belfast (UK)
Violet, a three-year-old Ceylonese elephant, meets and enchants Hettie Quin immediately after disembarking at the Belfast harbor and making her lumbering way to the Bellevue Zoo in 1940. Grieving after the death of her sister, relocation of her brother-in-law and newborn niece, and abandonment and estrangement by her parents, Hettie absorbs herself in zoo work, staying after hours to groom and bond with Violet in her enclosure and learning all she can about pachyderms, until she becomes the elephant’s primary keeper. As war comes to Belfast, Hettie makes Violet her priority, rushing to the elephant’s aid during air raids and afterward freeing and hiding the animal to protect her from death by constables worried that bombing runs will release dangerous wildlife on city streets.
The Elephant of Belfast is deeply emotive. Readers see the explosions in the night sky through Hettie’s eyes. They tremble with her fear as she runs from her home, down blacked-out streets, to reach Violet’s side in the zoo. Readers note the songs of the zoo animals she hears as they communicate their own fears to one another. Readers mourn Hettie’s losses and share her confusion, anxiety, and terror as she confronts everyday realities of war.
Action is hard-pounding; the imagery vivid; the message universal: connections and friendships among living creatures, both animal and human, offer solace, support, and strength in the darkest times.
