Faces

'It must be a nuisance to go through life with a Father Christmas moustache like that, but no doubt the Schnauzer gets used to it.' In Faces, Vita Sackville-West traces the origins and history of forty-four dog breeds. She reflects on their characteristics with frank humour, from the gentle-eyed Afghan, 'like somebody's elderly Aunt Lavinia, who nourishes a secret passion for the Vicar', to the Labrador Retriever, 'dear, solid, faithful lump of a dog!', and that 'docile minion' the Corgi. Each profile is accompanied by Laelia Goehr's striking black and white photographs. Together, profile and portrait capture these canine characters in their various moods: benevolent, haughty, amused, wistful, or simply a little bit sleepy. Charming and fascinating in equal measure, Faces is a joyful read for all dog lovers.

Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962) was a writer and garden designer. Among her works are the novels The Edwardians (1930), All Passion Spent (1931), and the pastoral poem 'The Land' (1926), which was awarded the prestigious Hawthornden Prize. Over the years Sackville-West had many dogs, including Cocker Spaniel Pippin (famously the mother of Virginia Woolf's Spaniel, Pinka); Alsatian Rollo, whose photograph hangs in Sissinghurst Castle; and elkhound Canute, who used to hop on the bus into town whenever he got bored.