'Flush' by Virginia Woolf

This short biography of Flush by Virginia Woolf is by no means a Disney-fied story of the life of a spaniel. This story is as realistically as possible a record of a dog’s interpretations of and feelings for the world he inhabits and his journey from Three Mile Cross in Berkshire to Florence in Italy without being anthropomorphically sentimental in any way. It is a book for dog lovers and it is a book for those who want to interpret the relationship between people and their dogs.

The Story

I was hooked into reading this story right immediately after the first three paragraphs in Chapter 1. From those few paragraphs the reader, if not already familiar with the history of the spaniel, will learn why they are called "spaniels." They will learn that the DNA of the spaniel threads its way through history back to when the Carthaginians arrived in what we now call Spain. The reader will learn that in the age of Queen Elizabeth I a poet an author named Sir Philip Sydney in his book Arcadia described spaniels as the "Gentlemen" of the canine court while greyhounds were "Lords" and hounds "Yeoman."

After reading these three paragraphs, I was ready to converse confidently with any people walking their spaniels in my immediate neighbourhood and talk with them about the breed’s history and mention the book. From all of these encounters I can only agree with Sir Philip Sydney’s belief that spaniels are "gentlemen." Never once have encountered one that has bared its teeth or growled at me.

There is no precise or verifiable date to mark when Flush was born, so a best guess would be sometime between 1835 and 1840. He was born into the Mitford family at Three Mile Cross near Reading. There he enjoyed the country life. Going for walks with his mistress, joining the hunt by accident and fathering a litter of pups. Soon after that event, he moved away to Mayfair in London to live with Elizabeth Barrett Moulton Barrett who on her marriage to Robert Browning became Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It was not as a result of fathering the pups he moved to London but because his owners fell upon hard times.

Flush did bite someone. It just happened to be Robert Browning when he was courting Elizabeth. He was severely admonished for his bad manners and told in no uncertain terms that he must love Mr. Browning and he did from that day forward. With so much love and happiness around Flush recognised his part in the unfolding story of the family of three. A theme that has been repeated countless times over the past 100,000 years. “We are all three conspirators in the most glorious of causes.” Life was good and then like stepping into a cold shower all the warmth of companionship and love were gone in a few seconds.

Flush was stolen once and bundled away to one of the rookeries of the East End of London where he was held for a ransom in squalid conditions. The rookeries were parts of London hidden behind the smart street fronting buildings of areas such Westminster, Paddington, and Whitechapel where Flush was believed to have been held at this time. The story only refers to one of these episodes but research into the notebooks, letters, and diaries of his mistress record at least two other similar episodes. Even then dog stealing for a ransom was a lucrative trade for criminals.

Following the marriage of his mistress to Robert Browning, all three of them moved to Florence. There, Flush lived out his days sitting with his mistress while she wrote or wandering the streets around his neighbourhood making friends with various people. Flush passed away peacefully in his sleep in the company of his mistress who wrote:

Loving friend, the gift of one,Who her own true faith, hath run,Through thy lower nature:Be my benediction saidWith my hand upon thy head,Gentle fellow creature!(“To Flush my Dog”)

That is the briefest of summaries of this lovely story.

Conclusion

This book has been a journey through the life of a very special spaniel who touched so many human lives in different ways. This has also been a book that through research for this review has shown me another dimension to Virginia Woolf. From all that I have read of her work, I did not know she had dogs throughout most of her life. There are more books I want to read about the author which will make my wife’s Christmas shopping or me easier for her.

I really hope that those of you who have read this piece are stimulated into reading the book. Reading not only from the perspective of animal lovers, but also from the perspective of understanding the relationship that has bonded man to dog for at least 100,000 years. Enjoy!

Flush by Virginia Woolf, Number 120 in the Penguin Classic series.