French Literature Reviews - 2026
É. Baratay, Animal Biographies. Recovered Lives
History, Politics and Society
Animal Biographies: Recovered Lives
Éric Baratay
Publication date: 02/03/2017 Publisher: Seuil Series: L'Univers historique ISBN: 978-2-02-118295-8 EAN: 9782021182958 Format: Large Format Binding: Paperback No. of pages: 297 p.
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. We discover in a wholly unexpected light the giraffe of the Jardin des Plantes, Stevenson's donkey Modestine, Warrior—a horse that served in the First World War, Islero the bull that caused the death of Manolete, as well as Consul and Meshie, two humanized chimpanzees, alongside the dogs Lazarus and Bummer, and Bauschan and Douchka.
Combining written sources, photographic and film footage, and insights from ethology and environmental science, the author pushes the boundaries of historical writing to firmly position himself on the side of the animal. By gathering and comparing materials on various destinies embedded in their respective eras, he also opens up new perspectives for conceptualizing entire historical periods and generations of animals.
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).
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An article on this book can be read on en-attendant-nadeau.fr:
The study of animal history has emerged as a subfield within contemporary historiography, examining the experiences of non-human creatures. By shifting the focus toward the animal perspective, this approach integrates biological and ethological insights into the historical record. Éric Baratay documents the lives of specific animals, including the giraffe of the Jardin des Plantes and the war horse Warrior, to illustrate how individual animal trajectories reflect the social and environmental conditions of their respective eras.
This work draws upon a diverse array of archival materials, including written accounts, photographs, and film footage, to reconstruct the perceptions and experiences of these subjects. By analyzing the lives of animals such as the bull Islero or the chimpanzees Consul and Meshie, the text examines how these beings existed within human-dominated spaces and historical events. Readers interested in the evolution of historical methodology and the intersection of environmental science with the humanities may find this examination of animal subjectivity and the challenges of historical reconstruction relevant.