Part history book, part memoir, The Great Grisby
written by Oxford-educated, Mikita
Brottman, PhD (Thirteen
Girls) is a fascinating exploration of how dogs have changed people and
the world in myriad ways. Brottman
acquired her first dog, Grisby—a lovable, French bulldog—when she was close to
40 years-old. Her eight-year "love affair" with Grisby encouraged her
to better understand their mutual affinity and the many roles dogs have historically
played in the lives of others who share their loyal companionship. In the
process, she unearthed a trove of information about the ineffable bond between
notable humans and their canines.
Over 26 chapters, Brottman analyzes many
stories including those of avant-gardes Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas and
their string of standard poodles; poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her
inseparable connection to her cocker spaniel, Flush; Philosopher Schopenhauer
and his attachment to all his dogs, always named Atma; Freud's late-life
fondness for chows, especially females; Picasso and his curious relationship
with Lump, his beloved dachshund; and aristocratic dogs including Prince
Albert's greyhound, Eos, and Russian Princess Tatiana and Ortipo, the French
bulldog gifted to her by a grateful soldier. Also included are references to
the dogs of politicians and in-depth depictions of canines as featured in
literature from Charles Dickens to Albert Camus.
Interspersed throughout short chapters, the
author shares lively, personal anecdotes about Grisby
and how he served as "a buffer...and a bridge" keeping Brottman
connected to a world she concludes is generally more empathic because of
human-canine kinship.
The Great
Grisby: Two Thousand Years of Literary, Royal, Philosophical, and Artistic Dog
Lovers and Their Exceptional Animals by Mikita Brottman
Harper, $25.99 Hardcover, 9780062304612,
288 pp
Publication Date: October 7,
2014
Note: This review is a reprint and
is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (10/14/14),
click HERE