“Filled with marvelous anecdotes and insights,” The New York Times, 30/10/2014.
“I have read thousands of books in my 81 years and this is the only one that has made me happy.” Jonathan Mirsky, Literary Review 12/6/2014
Inspired by her seven-year love affair with her French bulldog, Grisby, author Mikita Brottman ruminates on the special bond between dogs and humans in THE GREAT GRISBY: Two Thousand Years of Literary, Royal, Philosophical and Artistic Dog Lovers and their Exceptional Animals. Is her relationship with Grisby nourishing or dysfunctional? Commonplace or unique? As she ponders these questions, she draws support and inspiration from history, art, philosophy, and literature. In THE GREAT GRISBY, Brottman assembles a charming literary banquet of canine personalities, ranging from Atma (Schopenhauer’s Standard Poodle) to Thomas Hardy and his terrier Wessex, Frida Kahlo and her hairless Mexican dog Xolotl, to Zemire (Catherine the Great’s Italian greyhound). Through quirky anecdotes and personal reflections, with side-trips into psychoanalysis and animal studies, THE GREAT GRISBY shows us the many ways in which dog is the mirror of man.
“Utterly delightful and beautifully written, The Great Grisby is a wide-ranging account of dogs in literature, history and folklore, yet the greatest pleasure of this wonderful book is reading about the author’s love for Grisby. You will completely forgive the fact that the she is besotted. Why should she not be? Her descriptions of the two of them spending the day quietly at home is mesmerizing in its ability to remind us of the simple pleasure of hanging together, dog and person. No dog lover will find fault with it.”
~ Jeffrey Masson, author of When Elephants Weep.
“Insightful and utterly fascinating. Learn how dogs have enriched the lives of poets, artists, kings, writers, and many other notable people in this fascinating book about dogs in literature and history. Who knew that Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, unknowingly had the first therapy dog? The Great Grisby is a wonderful book about the special bond between humans and dogs.”
~ Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make us Human.
MORE PRAISE FOR THE GREAT GRISBY
“I loved the book. Maybe I can come back as Mikita Brottman’s dog in another life. If The Great Grisby were a meal, it would satisfy (at last) even the hungriest of dogs, and the most discerning of passionate log lovers. No kibble, a feast. I devoured it in one savory bite.” Abigail Thomas, author of A Three Dog Life.
“An entertaining literary and historical romp through the world of dogs.” Kirkus Reviews
“The Great Grisby contains a wealth of new information about dogs. Written in a friendly, accessible style, the book draws the reader into the stories of previously overlooked dogs – ranging from companions of the famous to characters in novels, poems, even musical compositions- and smoothly weaves in the story of the author and her beloved French bulldog Grisby.” Maureen Adams, author of Shaggy Muses: The Dogs who inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton and Emily Bronte.
“The Great Grisby is a fascinating look at canines through the ages. The dogs you’ll meet testify to the power of the human-animal bond.” David Grimm, author of Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs
“The Great Grisby will be of great interest to the dog-lover and the historian of the dog.” Geoffrey C. Bond, OBE, DL, LLD, FSA, author of Lord Byron’s Best Friends–from Bulldogs to Boatswain and Beyond.
