The Starlight Barking (101 Dalmatians)

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A day of enchantments for the Dalmatians of the first book begins when the Dalmatians wake up and find all the humans and other animals in an unnaturally deep sleep. They hear the barking of Cadpig, carrying all the way from London, where she has become the prime minister's pet. She informs them reports from all over the country reveal the same phenomenon, and summons delegate dogs to London. They travel to London by "swooshing", described as gliding just off the ground. Big Eater: Missis is rather obsessed with food, to the point where of all the weird things that happens in The Starlight Barking, the one thing that truly astonishes her is that she isn't hungry. It’s also implied with Cruella, or at least her great grandfather who maybe the spawn of the devil. Hill Hall ("Hell Hall" to the locals), the country manor belonging to Cruella's family where the puppies are kept. Took the Wife's Name: Cruella is the last de Vil and she brings it up as the reason she made her husband change his name to hers when they married.

In her pursuit of warmth, Cruella travels everywhere in what Smith describes every time as “an absolutely simple white mink cloak,” and at one point appears wearing a brown mink coat underneath her existing cloak, along with a fur hat, fur gloves, and fur boots. Every night she sleeps between ermine sheets. Moreover, she flavors all her food — including ice cream — with nothing but pepper, and when the Dalmatians bite her, they discover that she too tastes of pepper. Patch - Pongo and Missis' son, who was the largest of the puppies and devoted to Cadpig. He refuses to marry as an adult because he does not want to pass on his patched-ear-and-eye fault. He is happily reunited with Cadpig and made her temporary Private Secretary in London. Malaproper: Missis isn't good with large words. For example, she gets offended when she learns the Dearlys will found a "nasty din" of dalmatians, only for Pongo to explain what a "dynasty" is. Tommy Tompkins - the only human to be unaffected by the "mysterious sleep" due to having been made an honorary dog after helping them escape Cruella when he was two. He is a farmer's son, and, while still too young to read, enjoys picture books about science fiction. He and the General can communicate via a language of their own.

Get your paws dirty!

Spell My Name with a "The": Cadpig is almost always called "the Cadpig" as a nod to her name (a cadpig is the smallest piglet of the litter).

Cadpig's Cabinet - The dogs belonging to the Prime Minister's Cabinet, who take over their masters' jobs during the Crisis: This Is My Human: The dogs refer to the Dearlys as their pets. They are aware that the Dearlys believe it's the other way around, but they find it charming and let their humans continue to believe so.The anxious parents find that Cruella has imprisoned their puppies in her country estate (along with 82 she had previously acquired), with intent to make Dalmatian-skin coats. Pongo and Missis rescue them all and return triumphant with 97 puppies in tow. A rescued nurse-dog named Perdita and her long-lost beau round out their numbers to 101, Cruella and her husband end up financially ruined, and the Dearlys buy the same country estate where the pups were originally held prisoner. Blue-and-Orange Morality: Cruella. She genuinely doesn't see why Dalmatian dogs are supposed to be beloved family pets instead of mindless fur animals. But since she has the drive and wherewithal to do anything she likes, she's terrifying. Although The Hundred and One Dalmatians has been adapted into two films (animated: One Hundred and One Dalmatians; live-action: 101 Dalmatians), and each version has a sequel film ( Patch's London Adventure and 102 Dalmatians), neither sequel film has any connection to The Starlight Barking. Disney archivist Dave Smith said that he was unaware of any considerations for adapting the novel although Walt Disney was interested in doing another project based on Smith's further writings. Author Elizabeth Hand praised the "sophisticated canine society" in the novel. Russ Allbery stated in an online review that, while sometimes predictable, it is "significantly better" than its predecessor and can be seen as "a story of the attractions and perils of sudden advanced technology."

The novel has been adapted for the stage by Debbie Isitt for the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in 2000 (followed by productions at the Royal & Derngate, Northampton in 2007 and Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 2017), by Bryony Lavery for the Chichester Youth Theatre in 2014 and was devised by the company (directed by Sally Cookson) for Tobacco Factory Theatres in 2014. The novel was also adapted into a 2009 musical which opened in Minneapolis prior to a US tour. Another stage musical adaptation was due to open at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2020, before being postponed twice to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Sirius - the powerful, telepathic, but intensely lonely "Lord of the Dog Star", who can assume the form of any breed of dog and has loved dogs for millennia. With the threat of possible nuclear war looming, he fears what will happen to Earth's dogs, and he uses his magic to "freeze" Earth and give the dogs the power to flee with him if they so choose, setting off the events of the novel. Author Tract: 101 Dalmatians is not Dodie Smith's only work with a strong pro-animal, anti-fur message, only the one that features both subjects as major themes. Most of her other works usually manage a sly jab about the author's opinion on furs, but tend to handle the anti-fur message more subtly, usually by pointing out how ridiculous people look in fur (famously in I Capture the Castle, Rose — who acquires her coat by pure happenstance and who doesn't even like furs — ends up in a humiliating predicament after being mistaken for a bear) or by making the antagonist a fur-wearer. Many of her other works also feature at least one notable canine companion. The Dearly family and most of the Dalmatians of the first book still live in Cruella de Vil's old manor house in Suffolk, as do many of the other rescued Dalmatians and a married couple of White Persian cats. Mr. Dearly has allowed some dogs to go to new masters, including giving Cadpig to the Prime Minister.