'There is no category of bear whose story makes for more depressing reading, and whose miserable existence heaps more shame on humanity than that which follows...' Taking in these bears in chains, the circus bears of Bristol, the Victorian sewer bears and the spirit bears of the early years, among others, Mick Jackson's strange beast of a book explores some little known chapters in England's past. Mixing folk tale with fantasy, and history with myth, the narrative that unfolds is dark, playful and filled with magical moments, as it marches ever forward towards a strange convergence.