Another historical animal non-fiction!
This book covers the subject of Clara the rhinoceros. She was one of the first rhinos to ever enter Europe in the eighteenth century, and definitely the first rhinoceros to ever be on display in the Netherlands. From there, Clara became a cultural phenomenon: She made many travels across Europe where she was showcased and became a hit for the public as she was many people's first time seeing an animal of her kind. She also was shown on a lot of artworks by famous artists at the time, some more accurate than others.
Yeah, a solid book about the subject like I'd expected. We learn all that is known about Clara's history, from her being captured as a calf in India to traveling across the sea to ending up in Europe where she became a traveling sensation. It then also delves more deeply into the impact she had on the public and people around her as a whole, as well as how her arrival changed the common depiction of rhinos in art (beforehand they were depicted rather inaccurately).
The book covers the subject extensively and really did Clara justice. There's of course a few things the book cannot cover because they have been lost to time (such as a few small gaps in her travels or what happened to her body after she passed), but those are obviously nothing the author is to blame for. What is known is all present here, as far as I can tell. It's presented to the reader in an easily digestible manner and the book is richly illustrated with depictions of Clara throughout history for extra context.
It's a solid book and if the topic interests you I recommend you pick up this book. This book is also a companion piece to a current exhibition at the Dutch Rijskmuseum, so I hope I can go there sometime soon as well.
4/5
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