We know that there were dogs in Victorian Britain, but who were the ‘Doggy People’ who kept them, bred them, showed them, worked with them and cared for them?
Chapter by chapter, this book reveals the varied and often eccentric lives of the Victorians who helped define dogs as we know them today. The cast runs from the very pinnacle of society, Queen Victoria, to near the bottom with Jemmy Shaw, a publican, boxer, promoter of dog-fights and rat-killing. The others include an artist, aristocrats, authors, a clergyman, doctors, a dog-dealer, a feminist, journalists, landowners, millionaires, philanthropists, politicians, scientists, a stockbroker, veterinarians, and a showman – none other their Charles Cruft.
Looking at the invention and meaning of new breeds such as poodles, collies, Jack Russells, and borzois amongst others, we see how the Victorians thought about pets, sports, dog shows and animal rights.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
High society, low society
1. Queen Victoria | Family pets
2. Bill George | King of the Canine Castle
3. Jemmy Shaw | The Fancy
4. Duchess of Newcastle | Borzois and Fox Terriers
Celebrities and millionaires
5. Jack Russell | Terriers
6. Edwin Landseer | Canine characters
7. Harry Panmure Gordon and J. P. Morgan| Collies
8. Alice Stennard Robinson | Ladies Kennel Association
Sportsmen and showmen
9. John Henry Walsh (‘Stonehenge’) | Breed and breeds
10. Richard Lloyd Price | Sheepdog trials
11. John Henry Salter | Field trials
12. Charles Cruft | Dog shows
Doctors and scientists
13. Delabere Blaine and William Youatt | Dog doctors
14. Charles Darwin | Evolution and emotions
15. Gordon Stables | Canine care and dog tales
16. Everett Millais | Basset Hounds and breeding
Campaigners and politicians
17. Mary Tealby | Dogs’ homes
18. Frances Power Cobbe | Sentient creatures
19. John Cumming Macdona | St Bernards
20. Sewallis Shirley | The Kennel Club
Afterword – Pedigree chums
Index
About the Author :
Michael Worboys is an Emeritus Professor in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM) at the University of Manchester
Review :
'Doggy People offers an entertaining, indispensable, and insightful guide to the cast of Victorian characters who created the dogs that live amongst us today'
Chris Pearson, Author of Dogopolis: How dogs and Humans made modern New York, London, and Paris
'Well researched, concise and accessible, Worboys traces the fascinating history of how and why Victorian society realigned the canine / human relationship - an engaging addition to this absorbing area of enquiry.'
Hilda Kean, author of Animal Rights; The Great Cat & Dog Massacre; The Routledge Companion to Animal-Human History
'Worboys succeeds in taking an arch, humorous view of each subject without descending into caricature. Anecdotes are interwoven with a curriculum vitae of canine-related exploits. The breadth and depth of the research are worn lightly, but nonetheless invest the book – which might easily have descended into a treasury of trivia – with an underlying rigour and an eye for social history.'
TLS, James Cahill, June 2023
'This accessible, concise, and entertaining book is invaluable for animal historians and pet owners alike seeking to understand the origins of particular breeds, institutions, and activities that remain part of modern dog culture. Worboys's cast of characters is so diverse that every reader will find at least one piquing their interest. In ways both pronounced and subtle, these “doggy people” continue influencing modern dog culture in Britain and across the world.'
Journal of British Studies
