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Click here to purchase: City of Ravens

 

 

 

From Discover Magazine:

The Queen and the Ravens:

The UK's Special Relationship with a Very Smart Animal

 

 

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Some comments on City of Ravens:

 

  • Named to Audubon Magazine's list of "Notable books of 2012."
  • Named to Barnes & Nobles list of "Top Ten Books on London," 2012
  • "Boria Sax is a likeable Writer...and his diligent research has not only illuminated the origins of one of Britain's most famous myths, but also amply demonstrated ravens' 'uncanny ability not only to summon old tales but to constantly generate new ones'" --Times Literary Supplement, Feb. 27, 2012
  • "Both a delight and a profound illumination of the subject . . . with unexpected and fascinating conclusions."--Esther Woolfson, author of Corvus
  • "A wonderful contribution to the modern history and mythology of one of the world''s greatest cities." --Ronald Hutton, Commissioner of English Heritage
  • "Boria Sax traces the history of the ravens in the Tower of London with accurate scholarship and engaging stories." --John Marzluff, co-author of In the Company of Crows and Ravens
  • "Quirky and absorbing." --Publishers Weekly
  • "The author delves into the true history and cultural importance of these massive corvids. It's a lively, entertaining tale, with a few grisly details from real events." --Anna Sanders, Audubon Magazine, July-August 2012
  • "Enter Boria Sax, the veritable Ace Ventura of contemporary academia.... The author successfully charts our changing relationship with the enigmatic birds throughout the ages." --Darren Carlaw, The New York Journal of Books, 6/5/2012
  • "Boria Sax presents a fascinating delve into the raven and its relation to humanity, with a special focus on the legends of the Tower of London. 'City of Ravens' is a must for anyone curious about the curious bird, very much highly recommended." --Midwest Book Review, August 31, 2012."
  • "...we now have a fabulous little book City of Ravens by Boria Sax to keep us thinking. This extended essay tells the story of the ravens at the Tower in an enjoyable and often exciting manner." --Beachcombing's Bizzare History Blog, Oct. 31, 2011
  • "American folklorist and historian Sax (Crow) examines a powerful collection of raven myths among the British as he trains his gaze on the beloved ravens cared for by elaborately costumed raven masters at England’s famed Tower of London. Various history and guidebooks blame the birds for pecking the eyes from Lady Jane Grey’s severed head and state that Charles II had the wings of six ravens clipped so they wouldn’t fly away because it was believed since medieval times that the Crown and Tower would fall if the ravens left. However, Sax proves that the ravens were actually introduced in Victorian times and that the legend that Britain will fall if the ravens leave the Tower may originate with WWII, when a raven named Jackie, a brewery mascot, reportedly anticipated bombing attacks. Sax also demonstrates how the raven beliefs were influenced by a 13th-century legend of a Celtic raven god, Bran the Blessed, and how mythmaking is an ongoing, creative process and not just a relic of the remote past. This quirky and absorbing book demythologizes England’s folklore at the site of an iconic tourist attraction. . .." Publisher's Weekly, July 2012

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

 

Chinese edition of City of Ravens, translated by Weng Jairuo, Beijing: Citic Publishing, 2016.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.