The English Cat Artist: A Fictionalized Biography of Louis Wain 1860-1939 plus over 65 kitten pictures.

by Heather Latimer, Louis Wain (Illustrator)

Louis Wain was an artistic genius with a touch of madness that made him especially fascinating. During Edwardian times he enchanted the English and thrilled the Americans with his prolific output of cat illustrations and paintings that appeared as centerfolds in the chic Illustrated London News, full size pages in The New York American, and other prominent publications. He also created zillions of postcards, for which he became the most famous. The English Cat Artist contains 65 Louis Wain cat pictures containing around 800 cats with date and source of each picture, plus 10 Wain personal pictures. Presented in the format of a fast paced novel, this inside story of Louis Wain's life is revealed against a backdrop of prevailing conditions in England, and the world in a vivid, realistic, and entertaining fashion. In the early 1900's H.G. Wells, in his broadcast over the BBC He made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves. great success - New York Times. ...the public was enchanted - Los Angeles Times; We became enthralled with the depth and feeling of the narration - Cat World national magazine, England; An interesting book which must be one for your bookshelves - Postcard World, Journal of the Postcard Club of Great Britain. ...comes alive like a novel in its color and action - Midwest Book Review; ...characters comes to life in this enchanting biography which reads like a novel - well worth the price. Copydesk Flash, USA national.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2002

Reviews

[Jane Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Louis Wain art. This book was a very sad insight into his life and the madness that besieged him, and then the treatment he received because of it. Life in an English asylum in the 1930's sends shivers down your spine. I knew he was a prolific artist, but even I did not realize just how much work he produced in his lifetime.

This book was defiantly an eye-opener and a great read for anyone wishing to understand the 'madness' of Louis Wain. Although, I am not convinced he actually was insane. I think one of his doctors was probably correct, his earlier accident - falling from a bus, gave him a probably treatable brain injury that because of the times and lack of medical knowledge they classed him as a lunatic. As if that wasn't enough, he had a huge burden placed upon him as a young man and for all of his life--having to support all his sisters and mother, and his beloved wife Emily, died so young and so tragically.