Autumn, 1940. As the Blitz rages in London, Lord Ashburn (known as Lord Jones) is conducting some family business in the capital. As he walks the streets of Knightsbridge he finds himself confronted with an amazing and incongruous sight; a zebra and her foal are sharing the sights and sounds of the city. They have have escaped from London Zoo after their enclosure is damaged. A strange but unforgettable connection is formed between Lord Jones and the animal, who begins to follow him. The instant connection sparks a rebellion in him and he can’t leave her, so decides to do the unthinkable instead. He takes the zebra and her foal, Sweetie, back to his family’s estate in Pembrokeshire.
These beautiful and exotic animals arrive at Cresswell Manor in rural Wales and immediately start working their magic. Slowly, they start to transform the lives of those who live on the estate. Lord Jones seems inspired and has a thriving sense of purpose for the first time in his life. He finds the courage to put some distance between himself and the family that have always treated him with coldness and disdain. Strangely he finds himself forming a friendship with Anwen Llewelyn, the feisty and independent housekeeper at Cresswell, while all the time these wise creatures look on…
I love books that are hard to pigeonhole into one category and this is a mix of personal growth, historical fiction, romance, and a sprinkle of magic realism. Anna Vaught seems to choose these fascinating and unusual events in history to explore a familiar trope from a unique perspective. Half of the appeal is in the beautiful way she writes, something that grabbed me with her novel Saving Lucia. The Zebra and Lord Jones is a simple boy-meets-girl, but made magical by the dangerous backdrop of bombs falling from the sky and one man’s destiny with two zebras. The zebra’s escape from London Zoo is part of historical record, but with her unique style and talent Anna uses this one event to explore so many aspects of life. She weaves these strands together, slowly creating a tapestry of love and loss, threaded with some much needed hope.
I had so much empathy for Lord Jones, who contracted polio as a child and has always had a limp. His aristocratic family have looked down on him all his life, withholding love and physical affection. In this historical period, the aristocracy in this country really were dreadful. Many were instrumental in the plan to appease Hitler prior to WW2 and Lord Jones’s father was friends with Mosley and his wife Diana Mitford, even attending their wedding at Joseph Goebbel’s home in Germany. The way they’ve treated their son has left him depressed and with low self-esteem. Despite being tremendously privileged materially he is emotionally malnourished and desperately in need of a focus, preferably something he can become good at and build his confidence. It is perfect timing for these beautiful creatures to appear in his life and his plan to take them back to Wales with him is his first confident and decisive step into a new way of living. A more hopeful one.
Hope is a precious commodity at this point in the war and it isn’t just London where people are in need of a magical uplift. Anna has woven some of these characters into her story, such as Ernest the evacuee, Talbot the dedicated zookeeper and his counterparts in Germany. All of them are just trying to live their ordinary day to day lives in extraordinary times. There’s even an unexpected cameo from the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haille Selassie. Most interesting of all to me is Anwen, who has a keen sense of justice and a fierceness that I admired immediately. The characters are the stars of this particular show and they are a joy, including Lord Jones and his slow transformation into a different man. At the centre, drawing all of these people together, are the beautiful zebras Mother and Sweetie, who feel like characters in their own right.
I love magic realism, it’s one of those genres that make me a little bit giddy when I’m reading. It’s possibly the closest thing an adult reader can have to the stories we encounter as children that fill us with wonder. It has a different effect to all out fantasy because it creates what I call ‘literary glimmers’ – those shimmery moments of wonder amidst the drudgery and routine of the everyday. The contrast between the magic and the ordinary, elevates the themes and emotions of the story. The narrator is also playing with the reader, they walk us through the story showing us what happens like a puppeteer, deciding what to show us and when to draw the curtain. They display a giddiness and excitement at what’s happening, as they place in front of us a new snippet of gossip or historical document. It’s as if they’re discovering it at the same time we are, so we’re inspired by their immediacy and excitement. It’s as if they run up to us, waving a letter and saying ‘wait till you hear this!’
I felt inspired by this childlike curiosity and I found myself actually smiling on the outside at the playful details, ghosts, owls and zebras communicating with humans. I felt comforted, provoked, happy and full of hope about life, which is a gift in itself. The backdrop is hard hitting. I’ve always remembered the Stephen Poliakoff piece Glorious 39 because it depicted people in London queueing up to have their animals put to sleep and our main character Anne feeling unable to part with their cat. I’d never seen this depicted in a war drama before or after, so to see it as part of the narrative here made it real for me. I couldn’t imagine letting go of my animals even for the war effort and it made me think about the all domestic sacrifices being made for the public good. This historical detail, as well as the changes being made at the zoo, were so important to include, but absolutely heartbreaking to read. This is the hard part of surrendering to her mix of reality and fairy tales, but it was beautifully offset with the humour around Operation Zebra too. In all this is a wonderful tale, told by a unique and playful writer at her most skilful.
Thanks to Renard Press for inviting me to join the tour. The book is out on 27/9/23. You can buy The Zebra and Lord Jones
http://www.annavaughtwrites.com for recent articles and news!
Meet the Author
Anna’s next publication is her new novel, Saving Lucia, about the Honourable Violet Gibson who tried to kill Mussolini; this will be published by Bluemoose Books in April, 2020. Anna also publishes her first short story collection in September 2020; this is Famished and published by Influx Press. At the time of writing, Anna has three further books in the area, various short fiction coming and is writing a new book. She is an English teacher, tutor and mentor to young people, volunteer with young people, editor, short fiction writer, creative writing tutor and copywriter. She currently lives in Wiltshire, with her husband and three boys.
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