"I asked the sailor what an Elephant looked like; he replied that it was like nothing on earth." "England, 1766: " After a long voyage from the East Indies, a ship docks in Bristol, England, and rumor quickly spreads about its unusual cargo--some say a mermaid is on board. A crowd forms, hoping to catch a glimpse of the magical creature. One crate after another is unpacked: a zebra, a leopard, and a baboon. There's no mermaid, but in the final two crates is something almost as magical--a pair of young elephants, in poor health but alive. Seeing a unique opportunity, a wealthy sugar merchant purchases the elephants for his country estate and turns their care over to a young stable boy, Tom Page. Tom's family has long cared for horses, but an elephant is something different altogether. It takes time for Tom and the elephants to understand one another, but to the surprise of everyone on the estate, a remarkable bond is formed. "The Elephant Keeper," the story of Tom and the elephants, in Tom's own words, moves from the green fields and woods of the English countryside to the dark streets and alleys of late-eighteenth-century London, reflecting both the beauty and the violence of the age. Nicholson's lush writing and deft storytelling complement a captivating tale of love and loyalty between one man and the two elephants that change the lives of all who meet them.

剋裏斯托弗·尼柯爾森（Christopher Nicholson）

作傢，BBC廣播公司編劇和製片人。對自然史興趣濃厚，為BBC製作的節目多以人與動物間的關係為主題，所拍紀錄片曾獲普利策奬。1984年，在尼泊爾奇旺國傢公園同大象初次親密接觸，自此與大象結下不解之緣。

2009年，長篇小說處女作《大象詹妮與我》麵世，獲得如潮好評。大象詹妮的坎坷一生和守護者湯姆對詹妮畢生追隨的故事感人至深。敘事技巧超凡脫俗，筆觸餘味悠長，字裏行間滲透著對人與動物關係的深摯思考及世間萬物皆平等的悲憫情懷。