Wildfowling Tales
Brag Dog and Other Stories: The Best of Vereen Bell
Illustrations by Marguerite Kirmse; Edited by Darren Brown
Vereen Bell was a promising young author with three books and dozens
of articles to his credit when he was killed in the Second Battle of
the Philippines in World War II at the age of 33. As a result, his
exceptional writing about dogs and the sporting life has gone virtually
unnoticed for decades. Had Vereen Bell lived, he undoubtedly would have
been discussed in the same breath with other great southern sporting
writers, such as Rutledge and Babcock. His best stories were about bird
dogs and quail hunting, and many appeared in the leading magazines of
the day, such as the Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s. Several of
his bird dog stories rank among the best ever written but have not
been available to read until now. Bell’s writing is one of the true
hidden gems left in sporting writing. We are honored to present this
special edition of the best of his work. This edition will be slipcased
and bound in fine cloth. The etchings and drypoints of Marguerite
Kirmse, one of the most famous dog illustrators of the century, will
accompany the text of this book.
HB Slipcased 7 ´ 10 220 pages
RAVE BOOK REVIEW!
Chuck Johnson and Darren Brown of Wilderness Adventures Press have gathered 15
superb stories in BRAG DOG AND OTHER STORIES: THE BEST OF VEREEN BELL. Bell was
a minor master at what might be called Southern rural irony. The ironic Bell was
a keen observer and an honest recorder of how dog breeding, training, field trialing
and bird hunting cut across class and racial lines in the rural South of his
experience. One of the virtues of this, volume is Vereen Bell's craftsmanship
in describing the way bird dogs work captures the kinetic energy of pointer as
well as any writer I know. His descriptions of working dogs are priceless. This
collection includes a novella, “Trial by Marriage " that could easily be the basis
for an excellent screenplay. No story I know of captures the world of field-trialing
so well, not just the dogs but the lives drawn to it, for better or worse. Bell's
work is accompanied by Marguerite Kirmse's drawings. Few artists could do justice
to Bell's prose descriptions of working dogs. She can.
--Chris Camuto, Book Reviewer
Gray’s Sporting Journal, August 2000
Availability: In Stock
Retail Price: $50.00
Case Quantity: 1
ISBN: 1-885106-84-X |
UPC: 8-09206-06842-1
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