Reigning Cats and Dogs: A History of Pets at Court Since the Renaissance [Hardcover]

Katharine MacDonogh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312228376 | ISBN-13: 978-0312228378 | Publication Date: November 1999 | Edition: 1

For monarchs and their consorts, cats, dogs and the occasional parrot have acted as constant companions, unquestioning allies, surrogate children and silent repositories of whispered confidences. For the isolated children of the monarchs, cats and dogs were often the only source of emotional comfort and warmth. From Empress Josephine's collection of pugs (who had their own personal maid) to the Duchess of Windsor's pug named after Princess Margaret's husband (as a barb for the Queen mum) to Elizabeth II's dynasty of corgis, Katharine MacDonogh's history of these pampered pets offers us a fascinating and often hilarious peek into the exalted world of their owners, exposing their romances, intrigues and follies. Reigning Cats and Dogs is a lavishly illustrated pet'seye view of court life that will delight any history buff, pet lover or royal watcher.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1434, Jan van Eyck painted his Arnolfini Marriage and, in so doing, made art history. What van Eyck did, which no previous painter had ever saw fit to do (according to Kenneth Clark), was to include in his masterpiece a little pet dog. Van Eyck has a lot to answer for. By the time you're a few pages into Katharine MacDonogh's book, you'll realize that dogs and cats (and the occasional monkey) must be in virtually every subsequent work of art--especially if that work of art also features a representative of the royal family.

As MacDonogh tells it, these poor, neglected, princely children would find succor away from their dysfunctional families with their beloved pugs, chins, and corgis--and the pets reaped the rewards, getting their own beds, clothes, glittering collars, and bizarre accessories. Why, one is tempted to ask, did Charles II's sister Henrietta-Anne think that her dog needed earrings? MacDonogh has marshaled a staggering array of anecdotes and paintings, and the result is a beautifully rich and generously illustrated body of evidence. It's an all-embracing survey, spanning six centuries and the entire Continent--and, as such, rarely allows for particularly in-depth analysis.

Some will argue that the portraits record generic convention rather than genuine affection for animals; others might cavil that the royals only seem to be more besotted with their pets because they get painted more often than your average dog owner. Jammed in amidst the jollity, there's a disturbing section on how Renaissance royals viewed their "dwarves" and black servants as quasi-animals that cries out for some serious thought. But if you can get past the title--and someone somewhere is very proud of that one--Reigning Cats and Dogs is an intriguing and diverting read for those precious minutes before the dogs need walking again. --Alan Stewart, Amazon.co.uk

From Publishers Weekly

Queens distressed by duty, kings seeking unconditional affection and stressed-out, isolated heirs-apparent have all had frequent recourse to feline and canine companions. MacDonogh's detail-rich, frequently gossipy book is a panorama of facts and anecdotes concerning royal and aristocratic spaniels, Corgis, Abyssinians, Persians, poodles, dachshunds and more. Every dynasty in modern Europe seems to have had four-legged friends, and MacDonogh tries to cover them all, with special attention to France, Russia and the U.K. Readers who already know the lives of occidental monarchs may find themselves drawn instead to MacDonogh's stories of China, India and Southeast Asia. (Ming emperors loved their cats and banned dogs from the palace.) Dutch and later English portrait paintings furnish useful records of royal companion animals, and this volume devotes some space to the relevant artists, including Van Dyck, Hogarth and George Stubbs. (Cats remain second to dogs in portraiture, since painters find it hard to make cats sit still.) A historian addressing a nonacademic audience, MacDonogh writes with precision if rarely with verve, presenting no overarching argument, but offering, instead, a work to be browsed for pleasure or consulted for reference. Gossip-lovers, dog-lovers, dog-haters and Russophiles might all enjoy learning how the young Catherine the Great's affair with Count Poniatowski came to light: Catherine's little dog greeted the count with warmth while barking at less-familiar noblemen. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312228376
• ISBN-13: 978-0312228378
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,546,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Woof!, March 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Reigning Cats and Dogs: A History of Pets at Court Since the Renaissance (Hardcover)

This is a really fun book. The accumulated information about royal pets is staggering. I'm a dog lover/owner and I really had a good time with this book. It's also beautifully illustrated and worth it for the pictures alone. If you have pets and an interest in history, this is the book for you. It would make a great gift for a dog, cat, bird,(whatever!) owner.