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Dog of Flanders and Other Stories
No dust jacket. Minimal wear. lmn23
192 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1965
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Ouida
1,087 books56 followersOuida was the pen name of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé (although she preferred to be known as Marie Louise de la Ramée).
During her career, she wrote more than 40 novels, children's books and collections of short stories and essays. She was an animal rights activist and animal rescuer, and at times owned as many as thirty dogs. For many years she lived in London, but about 1874 she went to Italy, where she died.
Ouida's work went through several phases during her career. In her early period, her novels were a hybrid of the sensationalism of the 1860s and the proto-adventure novels dubbed "muscular fiction" that were emerging in part as a romanticization of imperial expansion. Later her work was more along the lines of historical romance, though she never stopped comment on contemporary society. She also wrote several stories for children. One of her most famous novels, Under Two Flags, described the British in Algeria in the most extravagant of terms, while nonetheless also expressing sympathy for the Frenchwith whom Ouida deeply identifiedand, to some extent, the Arabs. This book went on to be staged in plays, and subsequently to be turned into at least three movies, transitioning Ouida in the 20th century.
Jack London cites her novel Signa, which describes an unschooled Italian peasant child who achieves fame as an opera composer, and which he read at age eight, as one of the eight reasons for his literary success.
During her career, she wrote more than 40 novels, children's books and collections of short stories and essays. She was an animal rights activist and animal rescuer, and at times owned as many as thirty dogs. For many years she lived in London, but about 1874 she went to Italy, where she died.
Ouida's work went through several phases during her career. In her early period, her novels were a hybrid of the sensationalism of the 1860s and the proto-adventure novels dubbed "muscular fiction" that were emerging in part as a romanticization of imperial expansion. Later her work was more along the lines of historical romance, though she never stopped comment on contemporary society. She also wrote several stories for children. One of her most famous novels, Under Two Flags, described the British in Algeria in the most extravagant of terms, while nonetheless also expressing sympathy for the Frenchwith whom Ouida deeply identifiedand, to some extent, the Arabs. This book went on to be staged in plays, and subsequently to be turned into at least three movies, transitioning Ouida in the 20th century.
Jack London cites her novel Signa, which describes an unschooled Italian peasant child who achieves fame as an opera composer, and which he read at age eight, as one of the eight reasons for his literary success.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 16, 2022
4A Dog of Flanders is an 1872 novel by English author Marie Louise de la Ramée published with her pseudonym "Ouida". It is about a Flemish boy named Nello and his dog, Patrasche, and is set in Antwerp. The book that I have has that story as well as a 4 others.
I felt as a reader of dog books that I had to read A Dog of Flanders. I vaguely remember the movie I had seen as a child a LONG time ago, but didn't remember much. From what I had heard, I know that it was sad, or as a GR friend said, morose. Although I am not a fan of sad, or morose, or especially poignant, I had to read it. I found I liked the story. The writing felt like Le Miserables, but with a dog. I love to see virtues of man and beast displayed larger than life in what I see as 'sincere' melodrama.
Patrasche while under a cruel master is introduced in this way:
“A dog of Flanders - yellow of hide, large of head and limb, with wolf-like ears that stood erect, and legs bowed and feed widened in the muscular development wrought in his breed by many generations of hard service. Patrasche came of a race which had toiled hard and cruelly from sire to son in Flanders many a century - slaves of slaves, dogs of the people, beasts of the shafts and the harness, creatures that lived straining their sinews in the gall of the cart, and died breaking their hearts on the flints of the streets.”
The boy, (always a boy, I see nowadays in movies it is now always a girl to even things up), dreams of being an artist and submits his sketch for the art contest in town. He leaves his artwork but has doubts as told here:
“Perhaps it is worth nothing at all. How can I tell?” he thought, with the heartsickness of a great timidity. Now that he had left it there, it seemed to him so hazardous, so vain, so foolish, to dream that he, a little lad with bare feet, who barely knew his letters, could do anything at which great painters, real artists, could ever deign to look. Yet he took heart as he went by the cathedral: the lordly form of Rubens seemed to rise from the fog and the darkness, and to loom in its magnificence before him, whilst the lips, with their kindly smile, seemed to him to murmur, “Nay, have courage! It was not by a weak heart and by faint fear that I wrote my name for all time upon Antwerp.”
At one point the dog is separated from Nello, and refuses to eat although starving. When he can escape he goes in search of Nello:
There was only Patrasche out in the cruel cold – old and famished and full of pain, but with the strength and the patience of a great love to sustain him in his search.
I won't give the ending of that story away, but I seem to remember the movie taking the ending a different way. This is a good story to let your mind take the story in different ways.
I enjoyed the four other stories in the book. What I liked most about them as well as 'Flanders' was the descriptions of the cities and settings of the story in places like Italy and Antwerp before the great wars.
One of the stories, Moufflou revolved around a poodle with that name. Perhaps Eric Knight got ideas to write Lassie from aspects of this story.
Another story that I really enjoyed was 'The Nürnberg Stove.' The great treasure was a stove. When the destitute father, described as 'a good man, but weak and weary with so many to find for and so little to do it with,' has to sell the stove, one of his sons goes to try to get it back. At one point he wakes (or dreams of?) with a strange bright light round him 'what he saw was nothing less than all the bric-ä-brac in motion. The furnishings come to life ala Disney's 'Be our Guest' which was very charming. Some of the bric-ä-brac however do not dance and speak for an interesting reason. At one point I believe it is the stove who speaks up that includes this gem of wisdom:
"We were made in days when even men were true creatures, and so we, the work of their hands, were true too. We, the begotten of ancient days, derive all the value in us from the fact that our makers wrought at us with zeal, with piety, with integrity, with faith – not to win fortunes or to glut a market, but to do nobly an honest thing and create for the honor of the Arts and God."
Needless to say, I recommend the book. I like it so much I will put it in my 'dogs-favorite-books. I am not sure if I would have put a book with just the story of A Dog of Flanders in that category, but fortunately, with this book I don't have to. Although only 2 of the 5 stories has a dog in it, those two have enough dog in them, and the overall book has all my criteria to make it to the 'best' category; I loved the book, would look forward to reading it again, it has memorable moments, and it has great passages of writing for me to copy out and save to my list of favorite quotes. If you want to be well read on dog books, this one should be on your list to read.
I felt as a reader of dog books that I had to read A Dog of Flanders. I vaguely remember the movie I had seen as a child a LONG time ago, but didn't remember much. From what I had heard, I know that it was sad, or as a GR friend said, morose. Although I am not a fan of sad, or morose, or especially poignant, I had to read it. I found I liked the story. The writing felt like Le Miserables, but with a dog. I love to see virtues of man and beast displayed larger than life in what I see as 'sincere' melodrama.
Patrasche while under a cruel master is introduced in this way:
“A dog of Flanders - yellow of hide, large of head and limb, with wolf-like ears that stood erect, and legs bowed and feed widened in the muscular development wrought in his breed by many generations of hard service. Patrasche came of a race which had toiled hard and cruelly from sire to son in Flanders many a century - slaves of slaves, dogs of the people, beasts of the shafts and the harness, creatures that lived straining their sinews in the gall of the cart, and died breaking their hearts on the flints of the streets.”
The boy, (always a boy, I see nowadays in movies it is now always a girl to even things up), dreams of being an artist and submits his sketch for the art contest in town. He leaves his artwork but has doubts as told here:
“Perhaps it is worth nothing at all. How can I tell?” he thought, with the heartsickness of a great timidity. Now that he had left it there, it seemed to him so hazardous, so vain, so foolish, to dream that he, a little lad with bare feet, who barely knew his letters, could do anything at which great painters, real artists, could ever deign to look. Yet he took heart as he went by the cathedral: the lordly form of Rubens seemed to rise from the fog and the darkness, and to loom in its magnificence before him, whilst the lips, with their kindly smile, seemed to him to murmur, “Nay, have courage! It was not by a weak heart and by faint fear that I wrote my name for all time upon Antwerp.”
At one point the dog is separated from Nello, and refuses to eat although starving. When he can escape he goes in search of Nello:
There was only Patrasche out in the cruel cold – old and famished and full of pain, but with the strength and the patience of a great love to sustain him in his search.
I won't give the ending of that story away, but I seem to remember the movie taking the ending a different way. This is a good story to let your mind take the story in different ways.
I enjoyed the four other stories in the book. What I liked most about them as well as 'Flanders' was the descriptions of the cities and settings of the story in places like Italy and Antwerp before the great wars.
One of the stories, Moufflou revolved around a poodle with that name. Perhaps Eric Knight got ideas to write Lassie from aspects of this story.
Another story that I really enjoyed was 'The Nürnberg Stove.' The great treasure was a stove. When the destitute father, described as 'a good man, but weak and weary with so many to find for and so little to do it with,' has to sell the stove, one of his sons goes to try to get it back. At one point he wakes (or dreams of?) with a strange bright light round him 'what he saw was nothing less than all the bric-ä-brac in motion. The furnishings come to life ala Disney's 'Be our Guest' which was very charming. Some of the bric-ä-brac however do not dance and speak for an interesting reason. At one point I believe it is the stove who speaks up that includes this gem of wisdom:
"We were made in days when even men were true creatures, and so we, the work of their hands, were true too. We, the begotten of ancient days, derive all the value in us from the fact that our makers wrought at us with zeal, with piety, with integrity, with faith – not to win fortunes or to glut a market, but to do nobly an honest thing and create for the honor of the Arts and God."
Needless to say, I recommend the book. I like it so much I will put it in my 'dogs-favorite-books. I am not sure if I would have put a book with just the story of A Dog of Flanders in that category, but fortunately, with this book I don't have to. Although only 2 of the 5 stories has a dog in it, those two have enough dog in them, and the overall book has all my criteria to make it to the 'best' category; I loved the book, would look forward to reading it again, it has memorable moments, and it has great passages of writing for me to copy out and save to my list of favorite quotes. If you want to be well read on dog books, this one should be on your list to read.
January 28, 2013
I enjoyed all of the short stories very much. They each have a gentle, yet spirited way of conveying traits like loyalty, love, faithfulness, and, conversely, a forthright consequence when human virtues ARE NOT applied! Of all, my favourite one is "Moufflou" - serious moral dilemmas are creatively outlined here, accurately depicting the grey areas of making morality based choices.
January 17, 2017
1. IBC publishing level 2
2. 80minutes
3 dog friend poor death youth kindly pray
4 a: patrasche, I'm tired.
B: this is my favorite phrase, because I have heard this before and it is famous, but it made me very sad because they are poor and dying. I started raising up a dog recently, I thought I should take good care of him better.
5. Before reading this book, I didn't know about the story very well, this story remember me life is so important again.
2. 80minutes
3 dog friend poor death youth kindly pray
4 a: patrasche, I'm tired.
B: this is my favorite phrase, because I have heard this before and it is famous, but it made me very sad because they are poor and dying. I started raising up a dog recently, I thought I should take good care of him better.
5. Before reading this book, I didn't know about the story very well, this story remember me life is so important again.
October 1, 2012
-A dog OF Flanders
-Time: 9/28=60 minutes 9/30=40 minutes
-7 words summary: Nello, Patrasche, poor, draw, fire, pray, death
-Discussion Question
1.Nello had only a few precious memories of his mother, so what do you think about your parents?
My parents are so kind. Whenever I take a test, my father send a message for me. When I worried about something, I was encouraged by my mother. I'm happy now.
2.Making art was his life, so what is your habby?
My hobby is to listen to music because these musics make me happy, and I often enjoy talking with my friends. When I talk with my friends, I have a good time.
-Time: 9/28=60 minutes 9/30=40 minutes
-7 words summary: Nello, Patrasche, poor, draw, fire, pray, death
-Discussion Question
1.Nello had only a few precious memories of his mother, so what do you think about your parents?
My parents are so kind. Whenever I take a test, my father send a message for me. When I worried about something, I was encouraged by my mother. I'm happy now.
2.Making art was his life, so what is your habby?
My hobby is to listen to music because these musics make me happy, and I often enjoy talking with my friends. When I talk with my friends, I have a good time.
October 8, 2012
Title-A dog of Flanders
Time-9/28=60minutes,9/30=40minutes
7words-Nello,Patrasche,poor,draw,fire,pray,death
Disucussion question-
1. Nello had only few precious memories of his mother, so what do
you think about your parents?
My parents are so kind. Whenever I take a test, my father send a
message for me. When I worried about something, I was encouraged by my mother. I'm happy now.
2. Making art was his life, so what is your hobby?
My hobby is to listen to music because these musics make me happy.
Time-9/28=60minutes,9/30=40minutes
7words-Nello,Patrasche,poor,draw,fire,pray,death
Disucussion question-
1. Nello had only few precious memories of his mother, so what do
you think about your parents?
My parents are so kind. Whenever I take a test, my father send a
message for me. When I worried about something, I was encouraged by my mother. I'm happy now.
2. Making art was his life, so what is your hobby?
My hobby is to listen to music because these musics make me happy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews