From the author of My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell, one of Britain's best loved authors and pioneering naturalists. Reissued with a new cover

Written with Gerald Durrell’s usual sharp eye for observing humour in any situation, this comic novel about a man who inherits an alcoholic elephant will delight fans both old and new.

At the age of thirty, Adrian Rookwhistle’s life hasn't quite turned out the way he’d have hoped. Working an unfulfilling job as a clerk in the city and living under the tyranny of his fearsome landlady, he can’t help but think that there is more to life.

However, all of this suddenly changes when he receives a curious letter from his dying uncle who has bequeathed him £500 and an elephant by the name of Rosy who has a seemingly unquenchable thirst for liquor. At a loss of what to do with his unexpectedly gargantuan – and rarely sober – inheritance, Adrian sets forth on a journey believing to have the answer to his dilemma: he’ll give her away to the circus.

Together Adrian and Rosy carve a trail of destruction through the peaceful countryside of southern England, meeting a curious cast of misfits along the way. Drunk or sober, Rosy spreads chaos in her wake, until the full weight of the law finally catches up with her . . .

'Uproarious' – Dailly Mirror

'Comic havoc!' – New York Times

Written with Gerald Durrell’s usual sharp eye for observing humour in any situation, this comic novel about a man who inherits an alcoholic elephant will delight fans both old and new.

At the age of thirty, Adrian Rookwhistle’s life hasn't quite turned out the way he’d have hoped. Working an unfulfilling job as a clerk in the city and living under the tyranny of his fearsome landlady, he can’t help but think that there is more to life.

However, all of this suddenly changes when he receives a curious letter from his dying uncle who has bequeathed him £500 and an elephant by the name of Rosy who has a seemingly unquenchable thirst for liquor. At a loss of what to do with his unexpectedly gargantuan – and rarely sober – inheritance, Adrian sets forth on a journey believing to have the answer to his dilemma: he’ll give her away to the circus.

Together Adrian and Rosy carve a trail of destruction through the peaceful countryside of southern England, meeting a curious cast of misfits along the way. Drunk or sober, Rosy spreads chaos in her wake, until the full weight of the law finally catches up with her . . .

'Uproarious' – Dailly Mirror

'Comic havoc!' – New York Times

"His uproarious first novel" - Daily Mirror

"Comic havoc!" - New York Times

"Enchanting . . . beautifully told" - Scotsman