Ravenmaster

The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London- Christopher Skaife
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: October 2, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: The ravens at the Tower of London are of mighty importance: rumor has it that if a raven from the Tower should ever leave, the city will fall. 

The title of Ravenmaster, therefore, is a serious title indeed, and after decades of serving the Queen, Yeoman Warder Christopher Skaife took on the added responsibility of caring for the infamous ravens. In The Ravenmaster, he lets us in on his life as he feeds his birds raw meat and biscuits soaked in blood, buys their food at Smithfield Market, and ensures that these unusual, misunderstood, and utterly brilliant corvids are healthy, happy, and ready to captivate the four million tourists who flock to the Tower every year.

______________________________________________________________________

In The Ravenmaster, we have the first behind-the-scenes, insider story of what it's like being the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London. I follow Skaife on social media and have been looking forward to reading this book for a long time- and it does not disappoint!  Ravenmaster Christopher Skaife generously shares his successes and learning experiences, triumphs and tragedies, and gives readers a glimpse into his life caring for some of the most famous ravens in the world. He tells us the Story of the Tower as if giving us a tour of the grounds: its history, famous residents and prisoners, and woven throughout are stories of the ravens. Ravens past and present, their personalities and habits, and his relationship with each one of them.

Throughout this fast-paced, witty  and enthralling account, Skaife's love for the ravens comes through loud and clear.  It is clear that you need not only to think like a raven to succeed in this job, but always need your sense of humor about you! By the end, the reader not only has a delightful glimpse into his life, but the lives of his feathered friends as well.  Skaife is a natural storyteller, and reading The Ravenmaster is like he is sitting down with you over a drink and telling you about the latest exploits of Merlina and her cohorts.

An absolute must-read for history-lovers, Anglophiles, and animals lovers, make sure to clear a few hours for yourself when you sit down with The Ravenmaster, because once you start you won't be able to put it down!