Nearly a decade of fiercely divisive debate over foxhunting in Britain culminated with passage of the Hunting with Dogs Act of 2004. This book recounts the long and colourful history of hunting in Britain, offers a fresh perspective on the conflicts, and concludes with a critique of the hunting controversies.

"'A strikingly rich and subtle social history of hunting.' Tristram Hunt 'A highly readable and scholarly account of hunting, showing its immovable place in the history, politics and identity of our country.' Roger Scruton '... a serious, intelligent and readable history of blood sport.' Jane Shilling, The Sunday Telegraph 'Seven' 'Not only is her thorough and insightful book an endlessly fascinating piece of cultural history, of great interest even to those who might imagine that hunting is a subject of no relevance, but it's also quite scrupulously unbiased.' James Delingpole, Literary Review 'Griffin's book commands admiration because it attempts to be scrupulously fair.' Max Hastings, The Sunday Times 'Emma Griffin has written a balanced and analytical history.' Jane Ridley, The Spectator '... an even-handed overview rich in scholarship and ripe in detail at all levels of the social scale.' Iain Finlayson, Times 'Her thorough research enables Griffin to draw some poignant conclusions. One is that hunting can be many things - from a means of obtaining food and clothing to a display of wealth and skill, and utilitarian to recreational - but ultimately a hunter's actions cannot be removed from the questions of land and power.' The Field"