Available as Hardback
This, the world’s first ‘pigaresque’ novel, is the beguiling and charming memoir of Toby, an exceptionally gifted pig who escapes the butcher’s knife, gains an education and becomes the most famous animal of his time
‘Had it not been for the fortuitous circumstances of Sam’s youthful sentiment, there can be little doubt that, instead of this my Book before you on your Table, you would have a rasher of Bacon and a Rack of Ribs - and that these would be my only mortal remains.’So begin the beguiling memoirs of TOBY, whose meteoric rise to Fame from his humble beginnings on a Salford farm is a story so Extraordinary you won’t ever be able to forget it. For these are no ordinary Memoirs; these are the memoirs of a PIG. The most gifted, charming, distinguished (and luckiest) pig in History. After escaping the butcher’s knife with the help of his steadfast companion Sam, Toby soon finds himself under the order of the volatile impresario Silas Bisset and his travelling menagerie of performing monkeys, horses, turkeys and canaries. Before too long, he is packing out theatres and concert halls, impressing the crowds with his ability to count, spell and even read the minds of ladies. But celebrity comes at a cost, as Toby soon finds out …
“A delicious book. A reminder of the risks, the drama and the quite extraordinary comedy of being born with a snout, four hooves and a corkscrew tail.”
Marie Darrieussecq, Author Of Pig Tales
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“An abundance [of wit and learning ] … a heartfelt (if overly self-interested) blast against eating meat…perfect for a vegan or vegetarian”
Toby Clements
daily Telegraph
“Written in delightfully erudite, faux early 19th-century prose…a multi-layered, rumbustious romp which the author pulls of cum laude”
Rachel Redford
observer
Russell Potter
Russell Potter teaches literature, early media, and the history of Arctic exploration; his book Arctic Spectacles: The Frozen North in Visual Culture was published in 2007, and he was a presenter for the Channel 4 programme Search for the Northwest Passage. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.