Top ten talking animals in literature

Cornelius Medvei's debut novel Mr. Thundermug features an ape who acquires the art of speech. In his second book, Caroline: A Mystery, a man's life is turned upside down when he meets a donkey called Caroline.

At the Guardian Medvei named his top ten talking animals in literature. One entry on the list:

Behemoth (The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov)

The Devil pays a visit to Soviet Moscow. Among his retinue is Behemoth, a demon in the form of a huge black cat, who cheats at chess, puts glitter on his whiskers and goes to a ball wearing a white bow tie and carrying opera glasses. His deviousness, clowning and attention-seeking have something fittingly and convincingly cattish about them.

Read about another talking animal on the list.

The Master and Margarita is among Joseph Fiennes' six best books and Daniel Johnson's five best books about Cold War culture. It's also a book that English actor and writer Stephen Fry tries to read as often as he can.

--Marshal Zeringue