Carol Birch is a famous English writer, author of eleven novels, winner of many literary awards. Jemrak's Menagerie was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize. The plot is based on a real story about the miraculous rescue of a boy who was in the mouth of a tiger, and a documentary story about the tragic death of the whaling ship Essex. Meeting the owner of the London menagerie, Charles Jemrak, changed the fate of young Jaffee Brown, revealing to him a previously unknown world of exotic animals and exciting adventures. Sailing to distant seas with his inseparable friend Tim almost cost him his life and became a severe test of faith, will and friendship.

Put Moby Dick, Treasure Island and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner together, add a little Dickens and you get Jemrak's Menagerie.Mail on Sunday