Publisher, Blackstone Audio (August 2011)

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“One of the greatest books ever written by anybody in the world.” —Truman Capote

“By far the best ‘animal book’ I’ve ever read.” —Julia Glass, National Book Award–winning author

“One of the bona fide dog-lit classics.” —New Yorker

“A stroke of genius.” —New York Magazine

“The love story of the year.” —Vanity Fair

“This is one of the greatest masterpieces of animal literature.” —Christopher Isherwood

“[Ackerley’s] descriptions of Tulip have the power to shake up our sentimental preconceptions about dogs, and dogs’ relationships to men; and they twinkle with the electricity of felt compassion and love.” —New York Times

“This is the funniest, most poignant, and, consider yourself warned, preeminently disgusting of all the great dog books. First published in 1965, it portrays in the most affectionate terms what the dog less tend to consider outrageous transgressions.” —Boston Globe

“Sublime and amusing.” —Philadelphia Inquirer

“I love this book because it shows respect and profound understanding of the animal on its own terms.” —Armistead Maupin

“In its own quirky fashion, Ackerley’s wry valentine to his beloved pet is as much a book about the difficult art of living and loving as it is a dog story.” —Publishers Weekly

“[Ackerley] aimed to shock, and his success was heightened by the soap-bubble sparkle and lightness of his prose.” —New Criterion

Distinguished British man of letters J. R. Ackerley hardly thought himself a dog lover when, well into middle age, he came into possession of a German shepherd named Tulip. To his surprise, she turned out to be the love of his life, the “ideal friend” he had been seeking in vain for years. My Dog Tulip is a bittersweet retrospective account of their sixteen-year companionship, as well as a profound and subtle meditation on the strangeness that lies at the heart of all relationships. In vivid and sometimes startling detail, Ackerley tells of Tulip’s often erratic behavior and very canine tastes and of his own fumbling but determined efforts to ensure for her an existence of perfect happiness.

My Dog Tulip has been adapted to screen as a major animated feature film with a cast that includes Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini. It has been heralded as “a stroke of genius” by New York Magazine and “the love story of the year” by Vanity Fair.

About the Author: J. R. ACKERLEY (1896–1967) was for many years the literary editor of the BBC magazine The Listener. A respected mentor to such younger writers as Christopher Isherwood and W. H. Auden, he was also a longtime friend and literary associate of E. M. Forster. His works include three memoirs—Hindoo Holiday, My Dog Tulip, and My Father and Myself—and a novel, We Think the World of You.