Tove Danovich hadn't thought much about the ethics of eating chickens—until a box of tiny, peeping chicks arrived in the post. As the "girls" grew to maturity, she came to think of them less as pets and more as friends. She played the ute for them; she wept when they died. And she developed a formidable knowledge of chicken history and lore, which peppers the pages of this delightfully strange memoir: the chicken craze that swept England in 1842 when Queen Victoria acquired five hens; Colonel Eggbert, Flannery O'Connor's beloved bantam who wore a white piqué coat and lace collar; and so much more! Whimsical and philosophical by turns, Danovich sets out to answer the question, "What brings a chicken joy?" This book will bring joy to many.