Animal stories are much loved, especially stories about dogs, and perhaps none more so than the story of the Skye terrier who came to be known as Greyfriars Bobby. Bobby was the loyal friend of Auld Jock, a Border shepherd, who was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh in 1858. For fourteen years, until his own death, Bobby insisted on sleeping on Auld Jock's grave. His story spread, and today visitors come from all over the world to visit the grave and to see the statue of this faithful little dog.

Greyfriars Bobby: A Tale of Victorian Edinburgh tells what Edinburgh was like in Victorian times, from the crowded tenements to the office of the Lord Provost. It features photographs, portraits, prints and etchings, and interesting objects from the National Museums Scotland and other museum collections, plus suggestions for places to visit and a list of selected websites. It also contains an additional eight-page facts and activities section that can be photocopied for home or classroom use. 

Find out:

• about other dog statues in Edinburgh
• what a 'muckle sumph' is
• who 'Jinglin Gordie' was
• what life was like in Edinburgh's Old Town
• about the history of Edinburgh Castle

Greyfriars Bobby: A Tale of Victorian Edinburgh is part of the new-look Scotties which are a series of exciting, full-colour information books containing a wealth of interesting facts, illustrations and photographs, stimulating activities, places of interest, and selected websites


Frances and Gordon Jarvie are the Scotties editors and, between them, authors of eight titles in the series.