Mr Fatigay is a hapless Edwardian schoolmaster posted to the Congo. His sole companion in the tropics is Emily: petite, dark and vivacious, brushing the floor with the knuckles of her strong capable hands. Emily is a prodigiously gifted chimpanzee of great intelligence and sensitivity, and also a secret autodidact. As she uncovers the delights of art and literature, she also begins fall for Mr Fatigay.
When the time comes for Mr Fatigay to return home to London, he brings Emily along - gifting her to his adored fiancée, Amy, who makes her a housemaid. Her abilities underestimated once again, Emily is reduced to serving tea to Amy's many guests and watching helplessly as Mr Fatigay is cruelly led on by his betrothed. To escape her stifling servitude, Emily begins donning Amy's clothes and sneaking out across the rooftops: she reads Darwin at The British Museum (where she is taken for a fascinating woman of mystery), calls on the apes at the zoo, and discovers her talent for the stage. But her secret trips into town provide only a brief solace, as there is only one person who can make her truly happy . . .
His Monkey Wife is a comic masterpiece about a most unexpected love-triangle, and a biting satire about the nature of civilisation.
FICTION / Classics
