The mammoth has been frozen for ten thousand years and belongs in the wild. Elsie's decision to return her is an act of love and conservation.
Elsie is an orphan with no status in Victorian society. The novel follows her as she navigates a world of museums, aristocrats and explorers — always on the outside, always determined.
Elsie and the mammoth form a genuine bond. Walliams presents animal-human friendship with the same seriousness as human friendship.