All the Dogs of My Life - by Elizabeth Von Arnim (Hardcover)

About the Book

A tantalizing glimpse into the life of acclaimed writer Elizabeth von Arnim told via the lives of the many dogs she owned from childhood to old age.

Book Synopsis

First published in 1936, All the Dogs of My Life is a brilliantly written account of all fourteen pet dogs owned by Elizabeth von Arnim throughout her life. With an introduction by Nina Stibbe, bestselling writer and author of Went to London, Took the Dog.

From a beloved dachshund to a trouble-seeking Great Dane, via all manner of dogs large and small, obedient and defiant, von Arnim brilliantly captures the bond between dogs and their owners. This witty and often poignant book is the closest the author came to writing a memoir. Despite her frequent exhortations that it wasn't an autobiography, much is revealed about her fascinating life: her marriages, life in Germany, England and Switzerland, her children and her lovers.

About the Author

Elizabeth von Arnim was born in Australia in 1866 and her family moved to England when she was young. Katherine Mansfield was her cousin and they exchanged letters and reviewed each other's work. Von Arnim married twice and lived in Berlin, Poland, America, France and Switzerland, where she built a chalet to entertain her circle of literary friends, which included her lover, H. G. Wells. Von Arnim's first novel, Elizabeth in Her German Garden, was semi-autobiographical and a huge success on publication in 1898. The Enchanted April, published in 1922, is her most widely read novel and has been adapted numerous times for stage and screen. She died of influenza in 1941.