Damian Dibben · 2018 · overland

Damian Dibben's 2018 novel, narrated by an immortal dog who, separated from his master on the steps of a Venice church in 1688, waits more than a century before setting out across Europe to find him again. Through the courts and battlefields of two hundred years, the London Frost Fair, the golden age of Amsterdam, the splendour of Versailles and the field of Waterloo, the faithful dog searches on. The route traces his wandering across the continent.

1. 1
   Venice

   On a winter night in 1688 the dog is parted from his master Valentyne on the steps of a Venice church, with the promise that if they are separated he should wait there, and so he waits.

2. 2
   Versailles

   In memory he travels back through their years together, to the dazzling court of Versailles where Valentyne served the kings of Europe.

3. 3
   Calais

   Across France to the Channel coast at Calais.

4. 4
   Dover

   And over the water to the white cliffs of Dover.

5. 5
   London

   To London and its Frost Fair on the frozen Thames, and the strange court of King Charles, in the early days of their long companionship.

6. 6
   Amsterdam

   To the canals and painters of Amsterdam in its golden age, one more city in a wandering that spans the centuries.

7. 7
   Waterloo

   And at last, in 1815, the search quickens across the smoke of the Waterloo battlefield, the faithful dog still seeking the man who made him deathless.