Dogs may be man's best friend, but every friendship is different. Prepare to meet Nicholas, a gregarious Airedale whose arrival in a moneyed Long Island home unleashes complete and total chaos throughout the neighbourhood. Verdun Belle, the lady of the title, is a silky-eared spaniel whose loyalty - and litter of puppies - rallies an entire American regiment fighting on the Western Front during the First World War. Then there's Egon, a large - very large - German Shepherd, accustomed to summering on the Cōte d'Azur, and to managing the diaries and daily activities of his human charges, whether they want him to or not.
This charmingly illustrated collection of three delightful stories, rediscovered after decades out of print, shows our canine companions in all their guises: comic, heroic, companionable.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Passing of Nicholas
The Story of Verdun Belle
My Friend Egon
Alexander Woollcott (1887-1943) was a radio personality, playwright, actor, drama critic and commentator for The New Yorker, and member of the Algonquin Round Table. Raised in Missouri, he became a fixture of New York society, maintaining friendships with prominent cultural figures from Dorothy Parker to Harpo Marx. Famous in his time for his wit and his distinctive appearance, he was the inspiration for multiple fictional characters, including the flamboyant drama critic Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner.
Edwina Dumm (1893-1990), who went simply by 'Edwina', was the first woman in the United States to make a living as a full-time cartoonist. Beginning her career on a newspaper in her native Ohio, she later moved to New York. A political cartoonist before she had the right to vote, she also drew comic strips and illustrated books and magazines.
