Taking over her family's failing taxidermy shop in the wake of her father's suicide, grief-stricken Jessa-Lynn Morton pursues less-than-legal ways of generating income while struggling to figure out her place among her eccentric loved ones.

After her curiosity is piqued by a safari gone awry, a journalist delves into the curious world of taxidermy and shares her findings. It's easy to dismiss taxidermy as a kitschy or morbid sideline, the realm of trophy fish and jackalopes or an anachronistic throwback to the dusty diorama. Yet theirs is a world of intrepid hunter-explorers, eccentric naturalists, and gifted museum artisans, all devoted to the paradoxical pursuit of creating the illusion...

In this collection of taxidermy art, you'll find a winged monkey with a fez and a martini glass, a jewel-encrusted piglet, a bionic fawn, and a polar bear balancing on a floating refrigerator. Author Robert Marbury makes for a friendly (and often funny) guide, addressing the three big questions people have about taxidermy art: What is it all about? Can I see some examples? and How can I make my own? He takes readers through a brief history of taxidermy...

This stunning novel introduces Susan Lindley, a woman adrift after her husband's death. Suddenly gifted her great uncle's Pasadena mansion, Susan decides to restore his extensive collection of preserved animals, tending to 'the fur and feathers, the beaks, the bones and shimmering tails.' Meanwhile, a menagerie of uniquely damaged humans - including a cheating husband and a chorus of eccentric elderly women - joins her in residence. Funny and heartbreaking,...

This contemporary look at a historical and controversial subject covers aspects of the art form's history, including hunting trophies, museums displays, use in media and film, interior decoration, and the work of contemporary artists reinventing an age-old technique.

"A mystery surrounding an opal and a green dress links two women-one in the mid-1800s and the other at the close of World War I"--‡cProvided by publisher.