I am very grateful to Sabine Hanke for this thoughtful, engaging and very positive review. By considering my book alongside Diana Donald’s Women against cruelty, Hanke not only highlights animal history’s rude health but also the growing array of approaches being taken.
While my book offers some criticism of approaches which heavily prioritise theoretical and fictional sources over evidence of tangible interactions between real people and animals, it does not downplay the value of cultural representations, it simply calls for a richer blend of sources. I hope therefore that the book serves as a bridge between approaches.
I am delighted that Sabine Hanke felt that the ‘great benefit’ of my book lies in its ‘aim of getting to know the animals and their agency’. To avoid any confusion, I would like to emphasise that, while the book certainly highlights the influence of animal behaviour on society, I was careful not to overstate or generalise about the influence of animal intentionality. My consideration of intentionality is mostly restricted to the chapter on watchdogs and even here I state that dogs ‘exhibited a degree of intentionality and self-directed action’ (p.189). Furthermore, in the book’s Introduction, I support the view that agency does not require ‘reason, intentionality and self-consciousness’ (p.9).
I completely understand and welcome Sabine Hanke’s wish that I had provided more detail to illustrate how the circus appealed because ‘so many Londoners either rode for pleasure or worked with horses and so fully appreciated the skill and sensations involved’ (p.158). I am afraid that some much-loved examples ended up on the cutting-room floor. Perhaps the most interesting of these is Philip Astley’s famous act, the Tailor's Ride to Brentford (created in 1768), which mocked Billy Buttons, an inept horseman hurrying to vote in an election. With the benefit of more space, I would have liked to argue that this act was part of a rich culture of mocking non-elite riders for alleged ineptitude and social emulation. I do, however, discuss these issues, with reference to the middling sorts and ‘riding out’ on pages 168-70, including a brief discussion of William Cowper’s The Diverting History of John Gilpin, first published in 1782. This mocks a Cheapside draper’s cross-country dash on a runaway horse to a villa in Hertfordshire. Astley’s tailor and Cowper’s draper shared much in common.
Dr Thomas Almeroth-Williams, University of York
The author is happy to accept this review and does not wish to comment further.
Professor Diana Donald