Synopsis:
Direspire Hall sits on the moors. It is a strange and lonely place that is avoided by locals for miles around. Strange rumours surround the hall and it is said that anyone who strays too close can hear cries from the monsters inside.
When a letter arrives advertising for the position of Creature Keeper at the hall, local animal lover Cora thinks she may have found her new dream life. The only trouble is that she’ll never be allowed. Then a search for a missing dog leads her inside the grounds and into contact with the reclusive Lady Cavendish and her amazing menagerie of animals.
The hall is filled with secrets and there are people who would rather the truth didn’t get out. Together with her new friend Gryff and the help of their animal friends, Cora sets out to learn the truth.
Review:
This is the ultimate story for animal lovers who know that there are far scarier things in the world than dragons.
Cora is a wonderful character who I related to very much. She’s got plenty of friends – unless you only want to count her human friends. Living on a farm is both a joy and a heartbreak for her and the story opens with exactly this as she battles to save the life of a cow who she loves very much. Cora loves the company of the farm animals but she feels certain she will never manage to live in a place where animals are killed and only counted for their value in meat. It was wonderful to have a protagonist who isn’t a confident speaker. Cora has plenty to communicate but she doesn’t always manage to say it right and this is a source of great frustration to her. Her animals friends don’t need her to articulate herself to understand her love and empathy for them.
The setting is tremendously gothic from the windy moors to the grounds of Direspire Hall and all its outbuildings such as the glass houses where the animals are kept. It has the bleakness and drama of The Secret Garden with all the excitement and action necessary to engage a modern audience.
It is difficult to explain without spoilers exactly how beautiful or fantastical the creatures in this story are. It opens with a walk through a glass house that contains animals brought home on an expedition lead by Lady Cavendish’s parents – tortoise, a pangolin, and macaws among others – but even before this beautifully-described scene we know that there is some level of fantasy. A strange, transparent dragon has been seen flying close to Cora’s home and it most certainly isn’t something that could have been found in the world as we know it.
There are strong themes about saving the environment and protecting animals from the effects of climate crisis. It also explores the effects of taking animals out of the wild on the entire habitat and on the survival of those species. I like how the setting reaches back to those early menageries and enthusiasts who may have believed their work benefitted knowledge of different species. The question that remains there is how important is human knowledge if it is worth endangering entire species over?
I had strong hopes for this story having enjoyed The Switching Hour and I wasn’t disappointed. Damaris Young’s work is engaging and filled with a respectful wonder for the natural world and its inhabitants. This is a magical story that leaves the reader looking at the world with fresh eyes.
- The Creature Keeper Damaris Young
