It seems that each time I begin to talk about The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise, I mistakenly suggest that the story is set more than a hundred years ago. This is not the case, as the setting is contemporary, but the “old world” atmosphere pervades the novel in a way that is truly enchanting. The author’s antique writing style voiced through Jonathan Crowley’s charming British narration offers a unique and captivating experience for the listener.

Balthazar Jones and his wife Hebe have lived in the Tower of London for eight years while he works as a Beefeater (yes, they still exist), a guardian of the Tower. The two have lived quiet lives of desperation ever since their 11-year-old son Milo suddenly passed away in his sleep. Their quiet lives are disrupted when Balthazar is assigned the responsibility of overseeing the opening of a menagerie in the Tower of London filled with monkeys and giraffes and any other animals given as gifts to the Queen of England during her lifetime. With the abrupt change of pace, Balthazar’s grief is put on hold as he redirects his focus and consideration towards a herd of animals suddenly in his care.

Balthazar and Hebe are joined by a cast of characters that includes a secretly-pregnant barmaid named Ruby, a clergyman who happens to also write a best-selling erotica series, a clerk named Valerie who works in the Department of Lost Property for the London Underground with Hebe, and a 181-year-old tortoise named Mrs. Cook, who has been in the Jones family’s care since before Milo was born.

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise is a beautifully crafted story that unfolds and peels back the layers of each character in an immensely gratifying way. There is grief and heartbreak, but there is also love, passion, humor, and a lot of charm to be found in this story. But best of all is the experience of hearing it aloud, and Jonathan Crowley delivers a sincerely moving narration to complement this lovely story. —Suzanne Day