Meet the Hunters: Adam, a teacher, his wife Kate, and their teenage children Hal and Charlotte. But it is Prince, the familyβs black Labrador, who is the narrator and protagonist of this tale.
An earnest young dog, Prince strives hard to live up to the tenets of the Labrador Pact: βDuty Over Allβ β that duty being to serve and protect their Family at any cost. Other dogs, led by the Springer Spaniels, have revolted. (Their slogans are βDogs for Dogs, not for Humansβ and βPleasure not Duty.β) Prince takes his responsibilities seriously, but as things begin to go awry in the Hunter family, they threaten to overwhelm him. It all starts when a new couple moves into the house overlooking the park. Soon Adam is besotted with Emily, while her husband Simon seems to have played a significant part in Kateβs past. Young Hal is tripping on acid with his rowdy friends, while Charlotte is having boyfriend problems and tries to end it all with an overdose. And down in the park, itβs even worse: Henry the elderly Lab has disappeared; Emilyβs dog Falstaff wants to lead Prince astray; has Lear the Rottweiler killed Joyce the Irish Wolfhound? In the end, Prince is forced to break the Labrador Pact and take desperate action to save his Family.
The Last Family in England is funny, sad, quirky and β incidentally β a clever reworking of Henry IV Part II.
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