London, its Tower, and its Famous Ravens
by Boria Sax
Advance praise for City of Ravens:
“City of Ravens is a wonderful contribution to the modern history and mythology of
one of the world's greatest cities: but also one to the understanding of myth itself, and of the changing relationship between humans and animals."
Ronald Hutton ,
Professor of History
University of Bristol
Author, The Triumph of the Moon; Witches, Druids and King Arthur
Commissioner of English Heritage
“In City of Ravens, a leading scholar of human-animal interactions documents how the Tower of London ravens were morphed from demons to idols. Boria Sax shows that the line between “myth” and “history” can be blurry indeed, and that attitudes toward animals can change rapidly without anyone even being aware of it. This fascinating and eminently readable story is a wonderful case study of the entwined lives of people and animals.”
Hal Herzog
Professor of Psychology
Western Carolina University
Author, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard To Think Straight About Animals
“Boria Sax traces the history of the ravens in the Tower of London, with accurate scholarship and engaging stories. Sax, who understands both history and ravens as do few others, has shown how the legend that Britain will fall if the ravens leave the Tower stems not from Charles II but from the bombs and breweries during World War II. He reveals both the symbolic power and the true magic of the Tower Ravens today.”
John Marzluff, Professor of Wildlife-Habitat Relationships, Avian Social Ecology
University of Washington
Author, Avian Conservation and Ecology in an Urbanizing World, In the Company of Crows and Ravens
"Boria Sax’s book ‘City of Ravens’—as all his work— is both a delight and a profound illumination of his subject. In his telling of the story of the ravens in the Tower of London, Dr Sax meticulously explores the origins of a celebrated British myth, coming to unexpected and fascinating conclusions. With the greatest sympathy and erudition, this book examines the human need for myths, tracing through time the history of the orgins of Raven myths, exploring as it does so, the timeless, intimate relationship between man and this most intelligent and resourceful of corvids. Suffused with a deep sense of humanity, ‘City of Ravens’ provides valuable insights into every area of our history and behaviour from the execution of kings to our attitudes towards the creatures with whom we share the earth, inspiring us as it does, to a greater sense of care, reverence and respect. Not only does ‘City of Ravens’ encourage us to examine more, to question more and most important of all, to understand more, it charms us as it does so."
Esther Woolfson
Author, Corvus
Represented by agent Dianne Littwin