Novels in which animals are the main character

[WillAdams]

Blitz, the Story of a Horse may qualify as well.

[Graham]

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.

Graham

[BenG]

The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.

[Prepper]

Ack-Ack Macaque and the sequel Hive Monkey by Gareth Powell?

[John A. A. Logan]

The Heart of a Dog, by Mikhail Bulgakov, might qualify (or might not, as the dog is involved in a strange experiment!) (published 1925) -

"A rich, successful Moscow professor befriends a stray dog and attempts a scientific first by transplanting into it the testicles and pituitary gland of a recently deceased man. A distinctly worryingly human animal is now on the loose, and the professor's hitherto respectable life becomes a nightmare beyond endurance. An absurd and superbly comic story, this classic novel can also be read as a fierce parable of the Russian Revolution."

[crich70]

Originally Posted by John A. A. Logan

The Heart of a Dog, by Mikhail Bulgakov, might qualify (or might not, as the dog is involved in a strange experiment!) (published 1925) -

"A rich, successful Moscow professor befriends a stray dog and attempts a scientific first by transplanting into it the testicles and pituitary gland of a recently deceased man. A distinctly worryingly human animal is now on the loose, and the professor's hitherto respectable life becomes a nightmare beyond endurance. An absurd and superbly comic story, this classic novel can also be read as a fierce parable of the Russian Revolution."

Spoiler:

Sounds like the author based part of the idea on some experiments that people did in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some used parts of monkey glands on humans thinking that the substances produced by the glands would help retard the aging process. It's also part of the rational of A.C. Doyle's story "The Creeping Man."

[~Kate]

The Bees by Laline Paull.

I just finished this book and am simply blown away. It is the closest book I have read to Watership Down - with shades of The Handmaid's Tale and Hunger Games. It is told through the eyes of Flora717 a lowly "sanitation bee", and how she serves within the different caste systems of the hive - including the inner sanctum of the Queen Bee. It is a dark read with social implications. As one Amazon reviewer says: "The story does for bees and religion, 'group think' and society roles what Animal Farm did for barnyard animals and government".

[Catlady]

Three Wise Cats is a Christmas story wherein three young cats are sent out on a quest and eventually join the three wise men on their journey to find the messiah.

[John A. A. Logan]

Originally Posted by crich70

Spoiler:

Sounds like the author based part of the idea on some experiments that people did in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some used parts of monkey glands on humans thinking that the substances produced by the glands would help retard the aging process. It's also part of the rational of A.C. Doyle's story "The Creeping Man."

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that Sherlock Holmes story, and have just looked it up and read the beginning. Fascinating stuff!

http://www.depauw.edu/humanimalia/issue01/fudge.html
Also found that online journal, on Humanimalia, with an essay which makes the connection between "Heart of a Dog" and Conan Doyle's "The Creeping Man".