Mr Allbones' Ferrets
Farrell, FionaA young man out poaching. A beautiful maiden in a mysterious house. A perilous voyage to distant islands. All the ingredients of a highly coloured Victorian romance are played out in the context of the great colonial experiment. Exotic species travelled back to stock the collections of Europe while useful species were dispatched to found new colonies in the antipodes. From a factual base, Fiona Farrell spins a delicate, satirical fantasy about human folly and the perils of disturbing the subtle balance of nature. NZ Interest.
Comments from Groups
Everyone enjoyed the book..... It gave rise to a very long and interesting discussion. probably because we are country group and could all contribute our own ferret stories! Motukarara 001 We enjoyed this rather unusual book. It's beautifully written with lovely descriptions of ferrets - and the awful conditions on board ship......We felt we learned alot..... Wellington 074 A good read, we agreed. Welll researched and written. Fielding 002 Most enjoyed the book. Good discussion about the history. Great description of the voyage. Most [thought] the first chapter was a bit gory. Palmerston 019 Enjoyed immensly by everyone. Loved the descriptive writing and thought provoking story, but still easy and quick to read...... Napier 011
Pages
217
217
Year
2007
2007
Reviews
23-11-2023
We all loved the book (and that's unusual). Superb writing style. The subject matter was totally unexpected and absorbing.
05-05-2022
A brilliant book that brought forth truly profound discussion.
26-01-2022
Excellent book, apart from rather gruesome first chapter.
08-04-2019
Clever arrangement of a fictional story. Very descriptive and well-written.
08-04-2019
A few readers found the ferret details rather longwinded and this coloured the rest of the book for them. All felt the romance between Mr Allbones and Eugenia was highly unlikely to have ever happened, considering the social class divide. All enjoyed the book, but were shocked by the quantity of birds taken for museums and displays - very startling. The book seemed to come to a rushed conclusion. The author's description of the rabbit hunt was very descriptive and accurate - impressive.
08-04-2019
So realistic some could smell the ferrets! First half was really good. One reader did not like the bullying. There are elements of a fable within the story - don't meddle with nature.
08-04-2019
Everyone enjoyed this book, though several found the opening sequence of the ferret hunting quite graphic and bloodthirsty. Several in our group are active in native flora and fauna conservation, and found the 'novelised' interpretation of this interest fascinating, and sad! As usual, Fiona Farrell's research is impeccable.
08-04-2019
Mixed - some loved it, some didn't. Most of us were annoyed at the deception regarding his name, and wanted him to 'confess', and we felt the middle dragged on for a bit. But we had some good discussions on bringing 'ferrets" to NZ, and how hard the boat trips were for all early settlers.
08-04-2019
We all really enjoyed the book - no exceptions.
08-04-2019
We all took a while to get 'into' this book. None of us liked the first chapter. Lots of discussion points. Excellent notes and great discussion questions.
08-04-2019
Our group was divided on whether they liked/enjoyed the book. Whilst everyone felt it threw a lot of light on the importing of predators to the country, some felt the sensory experiences it gave us (especially the smells!) were rather too unpleasant.
08-04-2019
Most enjoyed the book - not so happy to learn about mustelids! Rather an interesting twist to the tale. A good, easy read.