Yap! A Short History of Small Dogs by Stephanie Howard-Smith
Updated: 16 hours ago
AUTHOR'S HOUR
Thursday 15 April
6.30pm - 8pm (Doors open 6pm)
£16 / 2 For £27
Join Stephanie Howard-Smith for a delightful romp through the history of the most famous pocket-sized pups and their owners across the centuries! Come along for a treat of an evening for dog lovers!
The first dedicated history of little dogs and their humans from ancient times to the present day - from a rising star of British history writing.
Almost from humanity's very beginning, beloved small dogs have been trotting devotedly by our sides. Yap! follows in the pawprints of the breeds we have grown to love and cherish, from the small dogs touchingly memorialised in Ancient Rome through to Paris Hilton's chihuahua and the pet influencers of 21st-century, via the pug who colonised Napoleon's marital bed, King Charles II's spaniels and celebrity terriers in Victorian pubs.
Drawing on her own experience as a pug-owner, pet historian Stephanie Howard-Smith reveals how small dogs have shaped our lives as much as we have theirs, challenging social dynamics, changing the way we spend our leisure time, contributing to a global industry now worth over £250 billion, and offering valuable companionship and a chance for self-expression.
A must-read for any dog lover, Yap! is a paean to the unbreakable bond between humans and their petite pets.
Your ticket includes an exclusive evening viewing of Dr Johnson's House museum along with a welcome drink.
Stephanie Howard-Smith will be signing copies of Yap!
Doors open, museum viewing & welcome drinks: 6pm
Talk starts at 6.30pm.
Limited capacity. Early booking advised.
Stephanie Howard-Smith
Stephanie Howard-Smith holds a PhD in the cultural history of lapdogs from Queen Mary University of London and has taught animal history widely.
A lover of small dogs, Stephanie has written for, amongst others, Slate Magazine and History Today, and has been interviewed on BBC Radio 4, in the Guardian, New York Post, The Atlantic, and the Sky History series, Britain's Greatest Obsessions.
Accessibility
There is regrettably no step-free access to Dr Johnson's House.
There are seven steps to access the entrance (with a handrail).
The building is a four-storey townhouse with a staircase between each floor.
There are handrails on each side of the staircase and visitor seating in every room.
Toilets are located down a steep set of stairs.
