''Owd Bob: The Grey Dog of Kenmuir'', also titled ''Bob, Son of Battle'' for US editions, is a children's book by English author Alfred Ollivant. It was published in 1898 and became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, though most of the dialogue in the book was written in the

Cumbrian The Cumberland dialect is a local Northern English dialect in decline, spoken in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands, not to be confused with the area's extinct Celtic language, Cumbric. Some parts of Cumbria have a mo ...

dialect. The name "Owd Bob" is a rendering of the phrase "Old Bob" in a dialect style.

Plot

The story emphasizes the rivalry between two

sheepdog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and co ...

s and their masters, and chronicles the maturing of a boy, David, who is caught between them. His mother dies, and he is left to the care of his father, Adam M'Adam, a sarcastic, angry

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

with few redeeming qualities. M'Adam is the owner of Red Wull, a huge, violent dog who herds his sheep by brute force. The other dog is Bob, son of Battle. He herds sheep by finesse and persuasion. His master is James Moore, Master of Kenmuir, who acts as surrogate father to David. David and Moore's daughter Maggie become romantically intrigued by each other. The dogs compete for the Shepherd's Trophy, the prize in an annual sheep-herding contest which is the highlight of the year in the North Country. A dog who wins three competitions in a row wins the Shepherd's Cup outright, which has never yet happened. Complications arise—a rogue dog is killing sheep, and both Bob and Red Wull are suspected of being the culprit. The story chronicles David's boyhood and early manhood, his struggle to live with his father, his frequent escapes to Kenmuir, and his intermittent friendship with Maggie Moore.

In other media

Films

* ''

Owd Bob ''Owd Bob: The Grey Dog of Kenmuir'', also titled ''Bob, Son of Battle'' for US editions, is a children's book by English author Alfred Ollivant. It was published in 1898 and became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, though ...

'' (1924), UK * ''

'' (1938), UK * '' Thunder in the Valley'' (1947), US * ''

'' (1998), UK–Canada

Comics

* ''Bob, Son of Battle''

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

one-shot, issue #729 in Dell's catch-all nigh-weekly comic book,

Four Color Comics ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

. Adaptation written by

Gaylord Du Bois Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois (sometimes written DuBois) (August 24, 1899 – October 20, 1993) was an American writer of comic book stories and comic strips, as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure novels. Du Bois wrote ''Tarzan'' for De ...

. Art by

Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' ''Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' during t ...

External links

Public domain copies at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''Owd Bob''
(UK edition)
''Bob, Son of Battle''
(US edition) 1898 British novels British children's novels 19th-century British children's literature Novels set in Cumbria Dogs in literature Children's novels about animals British novels adapted into films 1890s children's books {{1890s-child-novel-stub