The Ravenmaster
Christopher Skaife
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, October 2018
ISBN 978-0-374-11334-6
Hardcover
Months ago, I read a blurb about The Ravenmaster in The Week magazine and I had been trying to get to it since then. Admittedly, it took a while. Totally worth the wait.
This book amused & delighted me as I read it, and again whenever parts popped into my head. Mr. Skaife seems to be a natural story-teller. I know I hung on to every word, but by the end…I still had not gotten my fill of the seven ravens that call The Tower of London home.
You can easily imagine my enthusiasm when I realized they have their own Instagram!! Turns out: my procrastination was a perk. In the essay collection, Mr. Skaife shares hopes for the future of the ravens at The Tower. I recently saw on the social media site that one of his goals has been met. So cool!
I have a new go-to-gift and it is uniquely excellent in that it is universally appealing. I cannot wait to share it with “my” students and to hand it out to my friends. No need to be into ravens, or even birds at all; the history of The Tower and the evolution of the post that is now The Ravenmaster is incredibly interesting. The bits about Mr. Skaife as a mischievous boy and later, as an eager sponge in the military are equally entertaining.
Reviewed by jv poore, May 2019.
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