One of our Books of the Year 2016 | October 2016 Debut of the Month | In a nutshell: rabbits save the queen | You may not know this, but whenever a rabbit hears the words ‘the Queen’, they sit up and use their ears to bow, even if they are in bed or on the run, at least according to this charming new book by best-selling authors Santa and Simon Sebag Montefiore. It’s testament to their gifts as storytellers that within a few paragraphs readers will believe this completely, and be immersed in a world in which rabbits wear clothes, read stories of heroes and boldly take on rats that dare threaten her majesty. There are shades of Watership Down in the story of Shylo, the runt who embarks on a daring adventure, but it brings to mind Wind in the Willows too, in the depictions of the English countryside and the creation of eccentric yet believable animal characters. ~Andrea Reece
Life is an adventure. Anything in the world is possible - by will and by luck, with a moist carrot, a wet nose and a slice of mad courage!
Shylo has always been the runt of the litter, the weakest and quietest of all of his family, his siblings spend their days making fun of him for not being like the rest of them. But when Shylo stumbles across a band of ratzis and overhears their evil plan to take a photo of the Queen in her nightie, it's up to this unlikely hero to travel to London and inform the Royal Rabbits of London about the diabolical plot!
The Royal Rabbits of London have a proud history of protecting the royal family and now the secret society need to leap into action to stop the ratzis...But can a rabbit as feeble and shy as Shylo convince them that Queen is in danger?
The Hobbit meets Fantastic Mr Fox meets Watership Down in this charming novel from bestselling authors Santa and Sebag Montefiore, which proves even the smallest rabbit can be the biggest hero.
Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore are renowned storytellers whose globally bestselling books have been published in over forty languages. Both have written number one Sunday Times bestsellers.
Santa Montefiore is a novelist. Simon Sebag Montefiore writes both fiction and non-fiction (to follow the author on twitter: @simonmontefiore. For more information: www.simonsebagmontefiore.com.) They are married, have two children and live in London.
