Description
| Product ID: | 9780008365103 |
| Product Form: | Hardback |
| Country of Manufacture: | GB |
| Title: | Catland |
| Subtitle: | Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World |
| Authors: | Author: Kathryn Hughes |
| Page Count: | 416 |
| Subjects: | Individual artists, art monographs, Individual artists, art monographs, Biography: arts and entertainment, European history, History, History, Cats as pets, Biography: arts & entertainment, British & Irish history, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, Cats as pets, United Kingdom, Great Britain, c 1800 to c 1900, 20th century |
| Description: | Select Guide Rating '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 ''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 MailSome 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 … A perfect gift for cat lovers, art lovers, and readers of all persuasions’ Elaine Showalter‘On Victorian and Edwardian terrain, Hughes is near-omniscient … Through humour, elegance and sheer knowledge, Hughes builds something remarkable’ Literary Review‘An entertaining and often surprising cultural history … typically delivered in an inviting spirit of delight, and [Hughes] is not above engaging in a little anthropomorphizing’ New Yorker |
| Imprint Name: | Fourth Estate Ltd |
| Publisher Name: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Country of Publication: | GB |
| Publishing Date: | 2024-04-25 |
