A Bristol author has made sure the city’s interesting and colourful characters are remembered forever with his new book Bristol Lives.
Alfred the gorilla and a priest called ‘Red Bishop’ are among the characters immortalised in the book by Maurice Fells, published in March 2011.
Alfred the gorilla had a worldwide following in the 1930s and 1940s. Alfred lived at Bristol zoo for 18 years after being rescued from the Congo when his parents were shot. He would be taken for walks around the zoo by his keeper and would often be seen wearing a woolly jumper.
Bristol Lives is the seventh book by Maurice Fells about the city. He has been fascinated by the rich and colourful history of Bristol since his schooldays. He worked as a journalist in the region before becoming an author.
He said of the new book: “We all know the stories about people like Cabot, Brunel – the famous ones – but I’d come across lots of people who were not so well known.
“They had just as interesting histories and backgrounds and they made their mark on Bristol.
“There were so many who never blew their own trumpet and I suppose on their behalf I’ve done it for them.”
Another story featured in Bristol Lives is that of ‘Red Bishop’. The priest is said to have been promised a cabbage a year if he helped to set up an inner city farm. Readers can also find out about the family whose company gave thousands of Bristolians a job for life.