The Animal Garden

by William Mayne

Against a background of local skirmishes between rebel forces and government troops in an unnamed Asian/Indian country, Philip and Shanya meet on the train, travelling to visit their respective scientist fathers in a camp in the desert, below the ruins of a very ancient city. The scientists are bargaining with the authorities to have water piped to the ruined city. But after their first night, the children wake to find the camp deserted. When, after a day, still no one returns, they make for the distant city just visible in the mountain. In fact the city is nothing but ruins, once rich with gardens and fed by streams, but now bleached and dry, and utterly deserted - or are they? There is a sensation of presences, footsteps, a belief they are being watched. They come upon a monkey, toasting a lizard on a fire. It turns and speaks to them - a strange mixture of muddled English, sometimes with the voices and the intonation of their fathers. In fact the ancient city is peopled by a whole tribe of these talking apes - the secret subject of the archaeological camp's study. But the apes too are in trouble - their city is dying from the drying up of wells and water courses. And children and apes together are now forced to flee into caves to escape rebel forces who bombard and occupy the city. In the ensuing journey underground through the heart of mountain they forge new alliances, water is restored to the ancient city, and the animal garden can once again sustain life...

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

William Mayne was a British writer of children's fiction. Born in Hull, he was educated at the choir school attached to Canterbury Cathedral and his memories of that time contributed to his early books. He lived most of his life in North Yorkshire.

He was described as one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th Century by the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, and won the Carnegie Medal in 1957 for A Grass Rope and the Guardian Award in 1993 for Low Tide. He has written more than a hundred books, and is best known for his Choir School quartet comprising A Swarm in May, Choristers' Cake, Cathedral Wednesday and Words and Music, and his Earthfasts trilogy comprising Earthfasts, Cradlefasts and Candlefasts, an unusual evocation of the King Arthur legend.

A Swarm in May was filmed by the Children's Film Unit in 1983 and a five-part television series of Earthfasts was broadcast by the BBC in 1994.

William Mayne was imprisoned for two and a half years in 2004 after admitting to charges of child sexual abuse and was placed on the British sex offenders' register. His books were largely removed from shelves, and he died in disgrace in 2010.