Philip Howell. At Home and Astray

Dogs were ubiquitous in Victorian London. Lapdogs nestled on ladies’ knees; fighting dogs exhibited their skills in the rat or bear pit; strays and working dogs roamed the streets, while family pets graced many a middle-class home. At Home and Astray: The Domestic Dog in Victorian Britain charts the development of mankind’s relationship with the dog in the Victorian city, painting a rich picture of canine life in the metropolis. Drawing on approaches from animal studies, cultural history, and historical geography, Philip Howell explores the spatial dimensions of dog-keeping in nineteenth-century Britain, assessing “the dog’s place in British society” (3). At Home and Astray focuses on a series of contemporary debates in which canine identity took center stage. Chapter 2 examines the harrowing phenomenon of dog theft, which occurred on an almost daily basis in mid-nineteenth-century London. Chapter 3 traces the history of Battersea Dogs’ Home (founded in 1860 as the “Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs”), highlighting the institution’s close relations with the Victorian state. Chapters 1 and 4 study the role of dogs in literature and science, focusing on the figures of Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin, respectively. Chapter 5 assesses the social and spiritual significance of dog cemeteries, which challenged existing religious assumptions about animal immortality. Chapter 6 explores the controversial issue of dog muzzling in public—a measure prompted by fears over the spread of rabies. Through a thought-provoking analysis of these debates, Howell elucidates the shifting status of the dog within Victoria society, interrogating its role as, by turns, beloved pet, valued property, scientific subject, vector of disease, and even proto-citizen.

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Identity (music) · Sociology · Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · History of Science and Medicine