I am delighted to be on the tour for this read. Thanks to Renard Press for the gifted ARC and for inviting me on the tour.
Striping the plot: A listless aristocrat, Lord Jones, finds himself in London during the Blitz, attending to insurance matters. A zebra and her foal, having escaped from the London Zoo during a bombing, cross his path, and he decides to take them back to his estate in Pembrokeshire. Little loved by his fascist-sympathiser parents, something in Lord Jones softens, and he realises he is lost, just like these zebras. The arrival of the zebras sparks a new lease of life on the Pembrokeshire estate, and it is not only Lord Jones but the families his dynasty has displaced that benefit from the transformation. Full of heart and mischief, The Zebra and Lord Jones is a hopeful exploration of class, wealth and privilege, grief, colonialism, the landscape, the wars that men make, the families we find for ourselves, and why one lonely man stole a zebra in September 1940 – or perhaps why she stole him.
Bobs and Books honest review:
Firstly, hooray for a Welsh setting!
When I was first offered this read, I thought it sounded so bonkers I had to read it. This did not disappoint. It didn't seem like my usual type of read, but that's exactly why I chose to pick it up. A hint of magical realism, a historical vivid sense of time, what's not to love.
This did take me a little while to immerse into this read but then I settled into it.
Some wonderfully eccentric characters, beautiful prose and an interesting story.
If you are looking for something a little bit different, this is the one for you.
About the author:
Anna Vaught is an English teacher, Creative Writing teacher, mentor,
editor and author of several books, including Saving Lucia, Famished,
Ravished and These Envoys of Beauty. Her short creative works and
features have been widely published, and she has written for the national
press and has had a column with The Bookseller and Mslexia. In 2022
Anna launched The Curae, a new literary prize for carers. Anna is also
a guest university lecturer, a tutor for Jericho Writers, and volunteers
with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. She is the mother
of three sons, comes from a large Welsh family and lives in Wiltshire.
The Zebra and Lord Jones is her third novel and seventh book.
Out 27 Sept
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