Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris, (Paperback)

from BookConcierge

The book is subtitled: A Giraffe's True Story, From Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris. In October 1826 a ship arrived at Marseilles carrying the first giraffe ever seen in France. She was a gift from the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt to the King of France; a politically-motivated offering to ensure...

from NielsenGW

Allin's account of the gifting of a giraffe to French king Charles X from Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali in 1827 is about as interesting as anyone can make it. He tries his best to fold in cultural and historical background as well as biographical tidbits about the people who dealt with the giraffe,...

from NielsenGW

Allin's account of the gifting of a giraffe to French king Charles X from Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali in 1827 is about as interesting as anyone can make it. He tries his best to fold in cultural and historical background as well as biographical tidbits about the people who dealt with the giraffe,...

from SqueakyChu

This was a fascinating story. Zarafa was a female giraffe, taken when young from central Africa to be presented as a gift by Muhammad Ali, then Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, to King Charles X of France. Nowhere near her ultimate destination, the problem was figuring out how to get this giraffe, a rat...

from DeltaQueen50

Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris by Michael Allin tells the story of this giraffe's remarkable journey from her birthplace in the Sudan, far down the Nile River, to Paris, France in 1827. She was presented to Charles X by Mohamed Ali the Viceroy of the Otto...