The Londoner is always looking for an excuse to write about stuffed squirrels, so many thanks to Kate Mosse for providing one.
The next novel by the author of Labyrinth and Bailey’s Prize co-founder is The Taxidermist’s Daughter, inspired by the museum of Victorian taxidermist Walter Potter, in which mice, squirrels and birds pose in tableaux — think Cock Robin being buried by mourning redbreasts.
Shark-pickler Damien Hirst had tried to buy the entire collection for £1 million in 2003 when it went on sale but the auctioneers insisted it was sold off as separate lots.
Mosse, who grew up near the museum in West Sussex, visited it as a child. At a party at the Soho Hotel last night with friends including actress Haydn Gwynne, Joanne Harris and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, Mosse said: “I would love to see it again if it is still available to see,” and would love to meet Hirst to talk about it.
Surely the novel’s September launch is the perfect excuse for a reunion of squirrels?
