Catland : Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World Hardback
by Kathryn Hughes
Hardback
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'If a Louis Wain cat were reading this book, he would raise his topper in tribute’ The Times ‘Excellent … Hughes reveals a fascinating, forgotten aspect of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain: how the British fell in love with felines’ Daily Mail ?Some called it a craze.
To others it was a cult. Join prize-winning historian Kathryn Hughes to discover how Britain fell in love with cats and ushered in a new era. ‘He invented a whole cat world’ declared H.
G. Wells of Louis Wain, the Edwardian artist whose anthropomorphic kittens made him a household name.
His drawings were irresistible but Catland was more than the creation of one eccentric imagination.
It was an attitude – a way of being in society while discreetly refusing to follow its rules. As cat capitalism boomed in the spectacular Edwardian age, prized animals changed hands for hundreds of pounds and a new industry sprung up to cater for their every need.
Cats were no longer basement-dwelling pest-controllers, but stylish cultural subversives, more likely to flaunt a magnificent ruff and a pedigree from Persia.
Wherever you found old conventions breaking down, there was a cat at the centre of the storm. Whether they were flying aeroplanes, sipping champagne or arguing about politics, Wain’s feline cast offered a sly take on the restless and risky culture of the post-Victorian world.
No-one experienced these uncertainties more acutely than Wain himself, confined to a mental asylum while creating his most iconic work.
Catland is a fascinating and fabulous unravelling of our obsession with cats, and the man dedicated to chronicling them. ‘Hughes combines ingenuity, insight, and immense literary charm in a study of cat culture and modernism.
A perfect gift for cat lovers, art lovers, and readers of all persuasions’ Elaine Showalter 'A darting, hobby-horsical, hugely interesting book' Guardian ‘On Victorian and Edwardian terrain, Hughes is near-omniscient … Through humour elegance and sheer knowledge, Hughes builds something remarkable’ Literary Review
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In Stock - More than 10 copies availableFree UK DeliveryEstimated delivery 2-3 working days
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:416 pages
- Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication Date:25/04/2024
- Category:
- ISBN:9780008365103
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Information
-
In Stock - More than 10 copies availableFree UK DeliveryEstimated delivery 2-3 working days
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:416 pages
- Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication Date:25/04/2024
- Category:
- ISBN:9780008365103