Description

‘It must be all true! And don’t leave out anything!’ It was to satisfy these demands from his children that Sir Percy FitzPatrick first told the stories of Jock’s life with him in the hunter’s paradise of the African Bushveld.

Jock is a bullterrier: When he is born he is the ugliest of a litter of six; but he grows up to be the wisest and bravest of them all. With his master he shares the excitement of a transport rider’s life in the early days of the Transvaal gold rush. They become close companions and all Jock’s skill and intelligence are needed in many thrilling and dangerous encounters with big game. A vivid picture of the Bushveld unfolds, as together Jock and his master come to know the animals, birds and men who inhabit it. This tale has become a classic among animal stories and today it is as fresh and exciting as when it was first told.

The story has been authoritatively abridged by Dolores Fleischer, to enable younger readers to enjoy the book without adult help. The original marginal illustrations have been retained, although they have been laid out differently, and the glossary of Bushveld terms and wildlife at the end of the book has also been illustrated. Magnificent colour plates by Tony Butler vividly depict not only the wildlife of the area, but also the spectacular landscape of the Bushveld.