Gentle Read Annotation The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise

The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise  by Julia Stuart

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Author:   Stuart, Julia

Title:      The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise

Genre:  Gentle read

Publication:        2010

No. of Pages:     304

Geographical Setting:     London, England

Time Period:      Present-day 

Subject Headings: Tower of London, Zoo Keeper, Eccentrics

Appeal:  leisure pace, eccentric characters and whimsical storyline.

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Plot Summary

A witty account of the vibrant characters residing within The Tower of London, The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise paints a vivid picture of the heartaches and oddities of The Tower of London residents.  Stuart takes the reader on a comfortable journey through the hearts and minds of Balthazar Jones, a Beefeater, aka Yeoman Warder of The Tower of London, and his wife Hebe Jones, an employee of the London Underground Lost Property Office.  While Hebe and her coworker and close friend, Valerie Jennings effortlessly work to connect lost things to their absentminded owners (an ash-filled urn, 157 pairs of false teeth, a Russian typewriter, 16 jars of preserved ginger, a long black magician’s box and a false eye, among other unusual items), the two women discover love, cope with loss, and provide the reader with entertaining tales of their daily work.

Morose brings depth to the story as Hebe grieves the loss of their young son, Milo, three years ago and Balthazar claims, only to himself, his responsibility in his son’s untimely death, creating seemingly unrepairable distance in their relationship.  Even their reliable 180 year old tortoise cannot offer reassurance.

With the arrival of the Queen’s animals to The Tower, Balthazar’s appointment of caring for the menagerie, and the residents’ pure dislike of tourists, Stuart provides a light-hearted and comical story.

Characteristics of the Gentle Reader Genre

·         Cheerful and hopeful with a reassuring sense of well-being (Saricks 94):  Stuart sprinkles humor throughout both the heartwarming and despairing moments, “After blowing her a kiss from the door, which confused the Yoman Gaoler who happened to be in his eye-line…” (100).

·         Colorful, down- home language (Saricks 96):  Stuart adds quirkiness to the many despairing moments throughout the story with repeated outlandish descriptions of ordinary items, “solitary teapot for one” (56), “keep the lovebirds separate, they hate each other” (64),  the Reverends’ “holy long fingers” (24).

·         Ordinary characters in ordinary situations (Saricks 96, 97):  Even though young Milo’s death weighs on the hearts of Hebe and Balthazar, his death is “only part of the natural events…and fit(s) within the boundaries of this genre” (Saricks 97). 

Hebe Jones adds a quirky element to the London Underground Lost Property Office, as she is routinely found within the magician’s box, her oasis (Stuart 39).  Valerie Jennings relieves job-related boredom and frustration by trying on various lost customs and accessories such as a Viking helmet, and the front end of a pantomime horse (Stuart, 134).

·         Book focuses on the relationships among characters (Saricks 97):  Stuart offers an essential map of The Tower of London as well as a Cast of Characters in the first pages of her book.  The many vibrant characters engage in dramatic relationships including:  Reverend Septimus, the Chaplain to the Tower, is attracted to the barmaid, Ruby Dore, and is a writer of erotic fiction; the Ravenmaster engages in extramarital affairs and will do anything to protect his beloved ravens; Arthur Catnip, the London Underground ticket inspector “of limited height” who coons over Valerie Jennings, finding her in a different costume upon each arrival. 

Similar Authors and Works

Quicksand by Steve Toltz (2015):  Liam, a struggling writer, enlists in the police academy for research for a book and finds himself failing as a cop.  He looks to Aldo, his best friend and a magnet for disaster, as inspiration for his writing.  While trying to sort out Aldo’s countless misfortunes, Toltz uses wit and humor to sift through the layers of friendship and faith.  The quirkiness of Quicksand characters and devotion to friendship thorough are similar to the character development in The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand: A Novel  by Helen Simonson (2010):  Like the eccentric characters in The Tower, The Zoo and the Tortoise, Major Pettigrew’s unforgettable sarcastic personality adds light humor to the comfortable paced novel.  In an English countryside, the retired Major meets Mrs. Ali, the village Pakistani shopkeeper.  The two bond over their loss of spouses and love of literature in a community were Mrs. Ali will always be a foreigner and Major Pettigrew, an honorable local. 

The Milk Lady of Bangalore:  An Unexpected Adventure by Shoba Narayan (2018):  In the same way that The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise gives readers an inside view of the challenges, comics and adventures inside The Tower of London, The Milk Lady of Bangalore offers readers a taste of Indian culture through the eyes of two unlikely friends; a big city writer from Manhattan, Narayan and the south Indiana village milk lady. 

Works Cited

Saricks, Joyce. The Readers’ Advisory      Guide to Genre Fiction, American Library Association,     2009.

Stuart, Julia. The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise: A Novel, Double Day, 2010.