French Literature Reviews - 2026

É. Baratay, Biographies animales. Des vies retrouvées
History, Politics and Society

Biographies animales. Des vies retrouvées

Éric Baratay

Seuil, coll. L'Univers historique
Publication date 02/03/2017
22.00 € incl. tax
304 pages
EAN 9782021182958

In this work, Éric Baratay offers pioneering animal biographies—accounts of lives or fragments of lives—constructed from the feelings, perceptions, and experiences of the animals themselves.

Readers will discover in a completely unexpected light the giraffe of the Jardin des Plantes, Stevenson's donkey Modestine, Warrior—a horse that served in the First World War—the bull Islero who caused the death of Manolete, as well as Consul and Meshie, two humanized chimpanzees, alongside the dogs Lazarus and Bummer, and Bauschan and Douchka.

Blending written sources, photographic and film archives, and insights from ethology and environmental studies, the author pushes the boundaries of historical writing to firmly position himself from the animal's perspective. By gathering and comparing data on various destinies shaped by their respective eras, he also invites us to reflect on animal generations and historical periods.

A professor of contemporary history at the University of Lyon and a specialist in animal history, Éric Baratay has notably published La Société des animaux. De la Révolution à la Libération (La Martinière, 2008, reissued as Bêtes de somme. Des animaux au service des hommes, Seuil, "Points Histoire", no. 442, 2011) and Le Point de vue animal. Une autre version de l'histoire (Seuil, 2012).

Visit the publisher's website…

*

The study of animal history has emerged as a significant field within contemporary historiography, challenging the traditional anthropocentric focus of historical narratives. By examining the lives of individual animals such as the giraffe of the Jardin des Plantes or the war horse Warrior, this work engages with the methodological challenges of reconstructing non-human perspectives. It situates these specific accounts within the broader context of environmental studies and ethology, reflecting on how historical periods and changing social attitudes have shaped the destinies of diverse species throughout time.

This approach builds upon a growing intellectual tradition that seeks to integrate animal agency into the historical record. By synthesizing written documentation with photographic and film archives, the book considers how specific animals, including the chimpanzees Consul and Meshie or the bull Islero, experienced their respective environments. Readers interested in the evolution of historical methodology and the development of animal history may find this examination of individual animal lives and their historical contexts relevant to their research.