The Enchanted Cat

by John Richard Stephens

Gathers artwork, poems, and selections from fiction and nonfiction about cats and their characteristics, behavior, folklore, and history

Genres: Poetry, Cats, Art, Anthologies

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 1958

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book features poetry, essays, stories, historical pieces and artwork on the subject of cats. I bought this back in the 1990s and looked through it then, but did not read it thoroughly until now.

I wish that some of the illustrations were in colour, not just black and white or sepia. But even so, the artwork is varied and interesting.

Some of the poetry, especially from the mid-20th century, seems to rework the same themes, such as the inscrutability or aloofness of the cat. Personally, I think the issue is not so much aloofness on the part of cats as humans' inability to interpret them and their body language correctly.

All things considered, however, this was a very satisfying read. It's the type of book that you can enjoy either in its entirety or by dipping into it once in a while.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compendium of human thought on cats, including historical records, anthropological findings, occurrences in literature, poetry, whimsy, art representations and religion/myth. Even the most avid and well-read cat lover is likely to find some new snippet of fact or folklore in these pages to tickle his fancy.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an anthology of cat stories. It also has some very charming photos of cat depictions in art.