Hark hark the dogs do bark!

Once again I find myself revisiting grade four but this week I’m remembering one of my favourite stories from a lesser known or somewhat forgotten author.  I’m referring to Dodie Smith.

Dorothy Gladys ‘Dodie’ Smith was born on the 3^rd of May in 1896.  Fond of writing plays, she wrote her first at the age of 10 and began acting in bit parts in her teens. Originally from Lancashire, Dodie relocated to London with her mother and step father at the age of 14.  The house that they lived in was in Dorset Square, not far from Regents Park.

As Dodie got older, she became a more accomplished actress and writer. Travelling, acting and writing became the norm for Smith, but until I recently researched the author, I didn’t know any of these facts.  The novel that introduced her to me was of course, The Hundred and One Dalmatians.

 

In the outer circle of Regents Park in London, a story of love between two dogs evolves. It tells of how their 15 puppies are taken by the evil Cruella de Vil and the measures they take to save not only their pups, but 97 in total.

I’ll never forget when Mr Mether (my 4^th grade teacher), wrote the name Cruella de Vil on the blackboard and after removing a few letters and manipulating the rest, transformed the name of the villain to Cruel Devil. I think that was the point in my life when I realised that when you write stories, you can use words in any way that you choose to. Maybe that’s why this particular writer and book are so important to me because at that particular moment, I thought Dodie Smith was a genius. I have so much to thank her for.

 

The Hundred and One Dalmatians isn’t the only book that Smith wrote, but it’s the only one I’ve read as I didn’t know if the others would live up to my expectations. My life isn’t over yet though. Since the book was written, there have been 2 movies and a musical about the Dearlys and their brave dogs.  The musical features lyrics written by Dennis DeYoung, the frontman from one of my favourite bands, Styx.  I wish I’d seen it

 

Dodie Smith passed away in 1990 at the age of 94 but her thirst for writing lives on to be enjoyed by readers time and time again. The story proves that the love of a child by their parent goes above all else, even with dogs. And it all happened, Once upon a time on the outer circle of Regents Park.