With TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats celebrating a significant birthday this year, there are many literary contributions that are perfect for curling up with a furry friend to enjoy
The cat-loving zeitgeist is nothing new. TS Eliot’s 1939 collection of children’s poems celebrating the whimsical ways of the feline – a playful ode that provided the basis for one of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats – cemented Growltiger, Macavity and Mistoffelees firmly into childhoods the world over. It’s rumoured the screen version of Cats will be released this December, the same year that Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats turns a respectable 80. Here, to commemorate the anniversary, we take a look at some other literary tributes to the animal kingdom.
On Cats by Doris Lessing
On Cats by Doris Lessing
Nobel Prize-winning author Lessing spent her childhood on a farm in southern Africa, and it was there, surrounded by semi-feral mousers, that her love affair with cats began. On Cats is a vivid memoir of all the characters that have slunk, scratched and purred their way through the chapters of her life, from Africa to her later years in London.
£6.99; harpercollins.co.uk
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines
The discovery of a kestrel by a troubled teenager, in the Yorkshire mining town of Barnsley, offers him a sliver of joy as he bonds with the wild bird. The acclaimed 1969 film adaptation of the work, Kes, directed by Ken Loach, fast became a cult favourite.
£8.99; Penguin
Old Toffer’s Book of Consequential Dogs by Christopher Reid
Old Toffer’s Book of Consequential Dogs by Christopher Reid
Award-winning poet Christopher Reid has penned a canine companion to TS Eliot’s famous Jellicles. An idea originally conceived by Eliot himself, following a conversation with a cab driver, Reid’s Dobson the Dog Detective, Flo the Philosophical Foxhound, and Frazzlesprat bound across the pages in a celebration of man’s best friend.
My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell
My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell
Naturalist and conservationist Gerald Durrell moved from England to Corfu with his family at the age of eight. The island’s wildlife – both warm-blooded and cold – had a huge influence, and occupied much of his time. Durrell’s exotic animal encounters are the driving force in this autobiographical offering of his formative years on the island. The Folio Society has a beautiful edition of this vintage children’s favourite available exclusively online.
£34.95; foliosociety.com
A Street Cat Named Bob by Bob James Bowen
A Street cat named Bob by Bob James Bowen
When James Bowen, a London busker living hand-to-mouth on the streets, found an injured ginger street cat in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, he stepped in to help and began a journey that would change both their lives, as the bond between man and cat grew. The bestselling novel even made its way to the big screen in 2017.
£8.99; hodder.co.uk
Cats on the Page, the British Library
Need another dose of vitamin C? C for cats, that is. Then the British Library’s Cats on the Page exhibition is just the ticket. Books, manuscripts and artwork from the British Library’s own collections are displayed together for the first time alongside a number of original illustrations, with loans from Seven Stories, Judith Kerr, Posy Simmonds, Axel Scheffler, Quentin Blake and the TS Eliot Foundation, all exploring the many literary guises of the feline through the centuries.
Free; on until Sun 17 March; bl.uk/events/cats-on-the-page
