It was April, 1883; the churchyard of the parish church at Symbridge in North Devon was packed with more than one thousand people. Outside stood country people from all around, most of them clutching little bunches of flowers. They had come to bury the man who was loved and respected throughout the West Country and beyond. He was no great country magnate, but a simple clergyman. His name was John Russell. It is scarcely more than a century since Russell died, yet already the mists are closing in. Stories of him abound, many distorted in the telling and re-telling over the years. The author of this book, the well known breeder, judge and authority of working terriers, who writes under the pseudonym 'Dan Russell', has set out to sort fact from fiction and to round off the portrait of a man who has already become a legendary figure. The book is also the story of the famous terriers whose name is associated with Russell, and the personalities amongst them, who were to do so much to ensure the continuity and development of the breed in its own right. Read the rest of this entry »