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![]() First edition cover from 1977 | |
Author | Richard Adams |
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Illustrator | A. Wainwright |
Cover artist | Martin White |
Language | English |
Genre | Adventure fiction, science fiction, thriller fiction |
Publisher | Allen Lane |
Publication date | 22 September 1977 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Pages | 461 (hardback edition) |
ISBN | 978-0-7139-1055-1 (hardback edition) |
OCLC | 3496427 |
823/.9/14 | |
LC Class | PZ4.A2163 Pl PR6051.D345 |
The Plague Dogs is a novel by English author Richard Adams, first published in 1977 by Allen Lane. The book centres around the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. As in Adams' debut novel, Watership Down (1972), the animal characters in The Plague Dogs are anthropomorphised.
The Plague Dogs features location maps drawn by Alfred Wainwright, a fellwalker and author. The conclusion of the book involves two real-life characters, Adams' long-time friend Ronald Lockley, and the world-famous naturalist Sir Peter Scott. Having seen a manuscript, both men readily agreed to be identified with the characters and opinions that Adams had attributed to them, as is shown in Adams' preface to the book.
In 1982, The Plague Dogs was adapted into an animated feature film of the same name.