BEL RIA - Dog of War.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. NFINE/VG+. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean, glossy laminated,monochrome photographic illustrated dw/dj panels with black+orange lettering to front panel,and ubiquitous sunning causing orange lettering in title to fade to yellow on backstrip; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present - though some minimal rubbing/chipping to corners and head+foot of backstrip.Top+fore-edges slighly aged/toned - as usual/normal - but generally clean; contents bright, tight,clean,solid and sound - near pristine - appears to be no intentional dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - though a pair of uniform,overlapping and jointly folded,top corner page creasings at pp117-120, else appears unread - apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp, blocked silver gilt letters to spine/ backstrip,and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,11-203pp [paginated] includes Pts 1-3 comprising 14 chapters; plus [unpaginated] half-title+ title pages,a dedication with acknowledgements to its reverse,an epigraph,and individual Pts separator pages.
At last,after sixteen years,the author of 'The Incredible Journey' has written another animal story of classic quality which will bring a new generation of readers to discover the special Sheila Burnford magic.
The Bel Ria of the title is a tough little terrier; a member of a tiny Basque travelling circus troupe which was shot to pieces by a German Stuka in the confusion of the retreat from France,the dog survives the sinking of the troopship Lancastria together with his fellow performer,a capuchin monkey called Louis. Ria becomes the charge of Neil MacLean,a complex Scottish sick berth attendant.Man and dog wage their own battle of personalities against the rigorous background of the U-boat-infested North Atlantic convoy run.
Later,Ria ashore at Plymouth,endures alone the hell of the Blitz.From then on a new phase begins in the dog's life.He is named Bel by the strange and until now unloved old lady who he finds in the rubble of the Blitz.
Three fractured human lives are changed by their involvement with this dog and the story culminates,as readers of 'The Incredible Journey' will not need to be told,in scenes of emotion and drama.But it is the indomitable,sensitive and latterly bewildered spirit of the dog himself which will linger longest in the reader's mind and imagination.Sheila Burnford combines all her talents as a story teller - brilliantly evoking the worst days of the last war - with her deep understanding of the mind of a dog.
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