The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London - Christopher Skaife Audiobook

Written by Christopher Skaife
Read by Christopher Skaife
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release date: October 2, 2018
Duration: 06:39:04

This program is read by the author.

The first behind-the-scenes account of life with the legendary ravens at the world’s eeriest monument.

The ravens at the Tower of London are of mighty importance: rumor has it that if a raven from the Tower should ever leave, the city will fall.

The title of Ravenmaster, therefore, is a serious title indeed, and after decades of serving the Queen, Yeoman Warder Christopher Skaife took on the added responsibility of caring for the infamous ravens. In The Ravenmaster, he lets listeners in on his life as he feeds his birds raw meat and biscuits soaked in blood, buys their food at Smithfield Market, and ensures that these unusual, misunderstood, and utterly brilliant corvids are healthy, happy, and ready to captivate the four million tourists who flock to the Tower every year.
A rewarding, intimate, and inspiring partnership has developed between the ravens and their charismatic and charming human, the Ravenmaster, who shares the folklore, history, and superstitions surrounding the ravens and the Tower. Shining a light on the behavior of the birds, their pecking order and social structure, and the tricks they play on us, Skaife shows who the Tower’s true guardians really are—and the result is a compelling and irreverent audiobook that will surprise and enchant.

Author and narrator Christopher Skaife is a Yeoman Warder, otherwise known as a Beefeater, at the Tower of London. Those titles might sound a bit formal or even posh, but Skaife is definitely not either. His natural storyteller’s charm results in a performance that is conversational, funny, and self-deprecating. Skaife describes his raven charges with obvious affection. He has most closely bonded with Merlina, and he demonstrates their conversations in “ravenish”–a definite benefit to being a listener. As Skaife outlines his responsibilities as ravenmaster, he blends in ornithological anecdotes about ravens, his former military service (a required qualification for the job), and experiences of living in the tower. Skaife even saw a ghost once, although he prefers to call them “echoes of the past.” RAVENMASTER is a joyful listening experience. A.B. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine