Yap

A really special book… Absolutely fascinating – Jo Good * BBC Radio *
Wonderfully engaging… I adored this book. It reveals a great deal about dogs - but even more about humans * The Times *
Fascinating * Telegraph *
[A] wonderful book with tales from history as well as modern fashion and scandals galore… Experienced pug-lover and pet historian Stephanie Howard-Smith reveals how small dogs have shaped our lives as we have shaped theirs… Sparkling * Daily Mail *
Entertaining and vivid… Any dog owner worth his or her salt will empathise and enjoy Stephanie Howard-Smith’s intelligent, often funny review of the place of the very small in the human heart and home * Literary Review *
Brilliantly witty… A history that is funny, strange, moving, and remarkably expansive for its size * Venetian Standard *
Every bit as charming, smart, perfect, and delightful as its subject. What a respite from the woes of the world, to dive into this brilliantly researched and wittily written study of the history of our love affair with small dogs. I loved it – Elizabeth Gilbert
A brilliant, juicy bone of a book, with lashings of history, culture and canine chronicles – Chris Packham
A delicious must read for those of us who adore our littler pets – Rachel Joyce
What they may lack in stature, small dogs more than make up for with their big personalities. Stephanie Howard-Smith’s captivating history of terriers, pugs and other diminutive dogs brilliantly illuminates their oversized influence on humankind over the last 11,000 years. A treat for dog lovers of all sizes – Chris Pearson * author of Collared: The Story of Man’s Best Friend Through the Ages *
The first serious history of small dogs, YAP! is a fantastic read that combines sparkling historical analysis with warm and entertaining stories that show us why the relationships between little dogs and their owners mattered in the past and continue to matter today – Jane Hamlett * Professor of Modern British History, University of London *
Yap! traces the long history of our love affair with and criticism of clever, obedient and affectionate little dogs. If this witty chronicle doesn’t end up in every dog lover’s Christmas stocking I’m a chihuahua – Amanda Vickery
Takes the unleashed reader on a delightful romp through the lives of people and their pugs, spaniels, beagles, Maltese and other smaller canines whose joie de vivre has carried dogdom into the most intimate corners of people’s lives – Professor Clive Wynne, author of * Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You *
If you love little dogs, you will love this book - and if you don’t, these delightful, surprising, and informative pages will change your mind! Scholarly but highly readable, Howard-Smith’s historical research, charmingly presented, shows just how deep, and real, our adoration of toy breeds runs, and why some folks’ dislike of them says far more about the human condition than the canine – Sy Montgomery
A treasure trove of doggy delights. From William Hogarth’s pug, to David Hockney’s dachshunds, Howard-Smith reveals how small dogs have been loved, cossetted, mourned, ridiculed and immortalised by humans, leaving their mark on art, literature and material culture – Helen Cowie
As a relatively recent convert to the joys of small dogs, I had no idea what a rich, complicated, and long tradition I was joining. But now I do! Erudite, and also engaging – Karen Joy Fowler

Stephanie Howard-Smith holds a PhD in the cultural history of lapdogs from Queen Mary University of London, and has taught animal history widely, including at King’s College London and the University of York. A lover of small dogs, Stephanie has written for, amongst others, Slate Magazine and History Today, and has been interviewed for the Guardian, New York Post, The Atlantic, and the Sky History series, Britain’s Greatest Obsessions.

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