The Rhino Keeper

🏆 Winner of the 2026 American Fiction Award for Historical Fiction

🏆 Winner of the 2026 American Fiction Award for Best Cover Design: Adult Fiction

⭐ Named a 2025 Kansas Notable Book

Before The Porcelain Menagerie, Jillian Forsberg captivated readers with The Rhino Keeper—an unforgettable historical novel inspired by the extraordinary true story of Clara, the Indian rhinoceros who astonished 18th-century Europe.

Based on the remarkable journey of a Dutch sea captain who traveled the continent with a living rhinoceros, The Rhino Keeper brings to life an age when science, art, curiosity, and spectacle collided in breathtaking—and sometimes dangerous—ways.

2022 — While studying abroad in the Netherlands, college student Andrea Clarkson uncovers a centuries-old mystery. Strange historical documents, a rhinoceros carved into an ancient grave, and a long-buried secret lead her on a journey that will challenge everything she believes about history—and herself.

1740 — Ship captain Douwemout van der Meer possesses what no European has seen in generations: a living rhinoceros named Clara. Together they travel across Europe, enchanting peasants, scholars, and royalty alike. But as fascination turns to obsession and fear, Douwe must decide how far he'll go to protect the creature who has become his life's purpose.

Among those inspired by Clara is a young sculptor named Johann Joachim Kändler, whose encounter with the remarkable rhinoceros will echo decades later in Forsberg's acclaimed companion novel, The Porcelain Menagerie.

Richly researched and emotionally compelling, The Rhino Keeper is a sweeping story of adventure, love, ambition, and the enduring bond between humans and the natural world.