Dangerous Dog

A short story by Kirsty Gunn from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.

In ‘Dangerous Dog’, a fitness instructor teaches teenage boys how to handle a pit bull terrier by telling them Jane Eyre’s story.

Edited by Tracy Chevalier, the full collection, Reader, I Married Him, brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of Charlotte Brontë’s game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.

Reviews

Praise for the full collection, READER, I MARRIED HIM:

‘Dazzling’ DAILY MAIL

‘The success of this book owes much to [Chevalier’s] enthusiasm … it’s quite amazing to see the quality of work on show’ EVENING STANDARD

‘A terrific set of stories by some of our leading novelists, each of whom engages with a chosen aspect of Jane Eyre’ THE NEW STATESMAN

‘A clever idea well-executed; a treat for fans of short fiction and for Brontë's many ardent fans’ KIRKUS REVIEWS

‘Exemplary…written by some of today's best female writers’ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

‘These pieces create a beguiling picture of women and men and desire, in which everyone is searching, like Jane, for happiness and wondering whether marriage is really an answer. The book acts as a prism spreading all kinds of literary and historical refractions, and it’s a reminder that Charlotte Brontë, too, has many sides’ GLOBE AND MAIL

About the author

Kirsty Gunn has written five works of fiction as well as three
short story collections, and, most recently, a long essay about
her interest in and connection to Katherine Mansfield. Her
most recent collection of short stories, Infidelities, published
in 2014, was shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor Award and
won the Edge Hill Prize. She is Professor of Writing Practice
and Study at the University of Dundee and lives in London
and Scotland with her husband and two daughters. She has
known Jane Eyre since she was nine and continues to think
about her. In that way – as is the case with all truly realised
fictional characters – Jane is a contemporary.