The Fox and the Hound (novel)

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The Fox and the Hound is a 1967 novel by Daniel Pratt Mannix IV. It follows the lives of two protagonists pitted against each other; a half-bloodhound named Copper and a red fox named Tod. The novel is Mannix's best-known work, and the Walt Disney Productions film The Fox and the Hound is loosely based on the novel.

The book alternates between Copper and Tod's point of view; of the ten chapters in the book, four are from Copper's perspective and six are from Tod's. Both of the animal protagonists are presented as reasonably intelligent if not on a level with humans, and the book constantly emphasizes the point that both are creatures who rely on their sense of smell as much as humans rely on sight, particularly Copper.

[edit] Plot

The novel's plot follows Tod from his first contact with humans as a pup and Copper from his first encounter with Tod. They are living in a changing world; the wilderness present at the beginning of the book gradually gives way to a more urbanized setting, causing problems for Copper, his Master, and Tod.