Brimming with charm and whimsy, this exquisite novel set in the Tower of London has the transportive qualities and delightful magic of the contemporary classics Chocolat and Amélie .

Balthazar Jones has lived in the Tower of London with his loving wife, Hebe, and his 120-year-old pet tortoise for the past eight years. That’s right, he is a Beefeater (they really do live there). It’s no easy job living and working in the tourist attraction in present-day London.

Among the eccentric characters who call the Tower’s maze of ancient buildings and spiral staircases home are the Tower’s Rack & Ruin barmaid, Ruby Dore, who just found out she’s pregnant; portly Valerie Jennings, who is falling for ticket inspector Arthur Catnip; the lifelong bachelor Reverend Septimus Drew, who secretly pens a series of principled erotica; and the philandering Ravenmaster, aiming to avenge the death of one of his insufferable ravens.

When Balthazar is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen, life at the Tower gets all the more interesting. Penguins escape, giraffes are stolen, and the Komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives. Balthazar is in charge and things are not exactly running smoothly. Then Hebe decides to leave him and his beloved tortoise “runs” away.

Filled with the humor and heart that calls to mind the delightful novels of Alexander McCall Smith, and the charm and beauty of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise is a magical, wholly original novel whose irresistible characters will stay with you long after you turn the stunning last page.

朱莉娅·斯图亚特（Julia Stuart），英国新生代畅销作家、记者。在校学习法语、西班牙语和新闻学，曾赴法国与西班牙教授英语，并在新闻界打拼多年，1999年获得国际特赦组织英国媒体奖期刊类奖（Amnesty International UK Media Awards ）。

本书甫出版即荣登畅销书榜，成为当年美国独立书商的“八月选书”，也被NPR的选书人列为年度最爱图书第一名。

斯图亚特极擅长描写恋爱中笨拙的男子。他们不善言辞，不懂得抓住机会，不会讨人欢心、曲意奉承。胸中虽有柔情万千，却无法宣之于口，他们只会沉着脸，闷闷地努力，守护着自己内心的一方小天地。