author
Matthew Scott
b. 1834
A Victorian animal keeper with a remarkable story, he is best remembered as the devoted handler of Jumbo, the giant elephant who became an international sensation. His memoir offers a rare first-person glimpse of life among exotic animals in 19th-century London and the circus world beyond.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1834 at Knowsley in Lancashire, England, he grew up around the famous menagerie kept on the Derby estate. That early experience with animals shaped the rest of his life and led to a career caring for them professionally.
Scott later worked at the Zoological Society's Gardens in London, where he became known for his skill with animals and for his close bond with Jumbo. In 1885 he published Autobiography of Matthew Scott, Jumbo's Keeper; Also Jumbo's Biography, a short but vivid memoir that mixes episodes from his own life with the story of the elephant who made him famous.
What makes his writing memorable is its plain, personal tone. Rather than offering a polished literary memoir, he gives readers something more direct: the voice of a working keeper describing the animals he knew, the places he served, and the extraordinary rise of Jumbo from zoo favorite to worldwide celebrity.