Visitors to Victoria, British Columbia’s inner harbor cannot fail to notice the bronze statue situated at the corner of Government and Belleville Streets, catty-corner to the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. It is of an older woman, surrounded by animals, the most prominent of which is a small monkey perched upon her right shoulder. The woman, of course, if the famous Canadian author and artist Emily Carr; the monkey is the nearly-as-famous Woo.
That there was a strong bond between Ms. Carr and Woo is well known and commented-upon in numerous books about her life. Now, with the publication of Grant Hayter-Menzies‘ Woo; the Monkey Who Inspired Emily Carr, a full and detailed account of the life and circumstances of this little Javanese Macaque itself, so dear to Ms. Carr, is available to all who may have wondered at the role and prominence of this little golden-eyed, greenish-brown monkey in her life and work.
