Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them

This witty, richly anecdotal book will show you how cats have consoled and inspired literary figures down the centuries. Indeed, it will convince you that to know a writer’s relationship with their cat, is to know the writer a little better. -- John Mullan, Professor of English at University College London This is the perfect book for bibliophiles and lovers of cats alike, revealing how crucial cats have been to the creation of many of the world’s most beloved books. Giving us a fascinating and light-hearted insight into the lives of writers as varied as Charles Dickens, L.M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, Susannah Fullerton also reveals the long history of cats in the lives of humans, from the time they were worshipped as gods or reviled as the familiars of witches, to the cultural phenomenon that is The Cat in the Hat.   -- Kate Forsyth A true feline delight, with an array of memorable cats, domestic, difficult and theatrical, all displaying what Boswell called their “contemptuous knowledge” – and an illuminating, off-beat exploration of writer’s lives, through their shifting relationships with the animals they loved. -- -Jenny Uglow (author of prize-winning biographies and cultural histories)