The Rights of Man and Fish

<p>Paul Halas's book The Rights of Man And Fish romps through more than 1000 years of European history as seen through the eyes of a carp. An intelligent acerbic multi-lingual carp with a taste for Armagnac patisserie and progressive politics. Gisella the carp is a one-off and any resemblance to any other talking fish either real or imagined is not only incidental but utterly impossible.</p><p></p><p>On her journey she meets such historical figures as William the Conqueror Jane Austen Alexander Pope and Pablo Picasso as well as finding herself caught up in Da Vinci's experiments various European wars rows and love-affairs not to mention a variety of alcohol-induced mishaps.</p><p></p><p>Not only does she witness many of the great (and infamous) events of history she is frequently the cause of them. Which is quite a feat for a fish with a brain the size of a walnut. She also overcomes the ongoing problem of how to talk to humans while remaining partially submerged and avoiding barbs and hooks both from anglers and philosophers.</p><p></p>