Magnificat

by Norman Thelwell

Magnificat portrays the domestic cat in all its preening, self-important glory and Top Dog gets to the heart of being a pampered pooch.

Genres: Humor, Cats, Comics, Fiction, Cartoon

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Norman Thelwell was an English cartoonist well-known for his humorous illustrations of ponies and horses. A promising young student from Liverpool College of Art, he soon became a contributor to the satirical magazine Punch in the 1950s, and earned many lasting devotees by illustrating Chicko in the British boys' comic Eagle.

Known to many only as Thelwell, he found his true comic niche with Pony Club girls and ponies refusing fences, a subject for which he became best-known. His cartoons and drawings delighted millions.

For the last quarter of a century of his life he lived in the Test Valley at Timsbury, near Romsey, gradually restoring a farm house and landscaping the grounds which gave rise to his first factual book, A Plank Bridge by a Pool, which detailed the first two lakes he dug there. A third lake was later featured on the BBC’s South Today programme. Written much earlier, but published three years later, A Millstone Round My Neck described his experiences in re-building a Cornish water mill (Addicroft Mill at Liskeard, which he called Penruin), that was sold before the book was published. He always loved old buildings, and in his auto-biography, Wrestling with a Pencil wrote about his joy in the beauty of old cottages.

Reviews

[^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book to remind all impoverished artists to think commercially. There must be hundreds of thousands of people who bought this book as a present for cat-owning family or friends.

The word "Magnificat" predates Thelwell; who would have well known it as the title of the Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary (St Luke 1.46), which for centuries has been, and continues to be, sung or said daily at (for example) Anglican Evensong / Evening Prayer from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

But other than for the play of word, I can’t see that it has any relevance to felines; unless lines such as “For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his hand-maiden” are a side-swipe to the hand which daily opens the tin of cat food? Come to think of it, that just may be it. “He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts” might perfectly well be applied to a cat’s unconscious ability to always bag the most comfortable place to curl up on the sofa or in front of the fire; whilst demoting humans to less prestigious lumpy & un-sprung chairs?

The cartoon on p.38 is, I like to think, a nod to James Herriot and his struggle with Boris (the cat, not the present Mayor of London). On what I interpret as a journey on the London Tube, a gentleman is endeavouring to ignore the embarrassing reality that his black cat is making an all-out, no-holds barred, bid for freedom from within its wicker cat basket. Two ladies sitting immediately on either side of him exhibit expressions of acute nervous alarm and near panic. As with any first class cartoonist, the essence of the humour is brought to life within the lines of the artwork; a vision that would require a positively clumsy number of words to replace.

Of course, even the very concept of a ‘cat owner’ is misconstrued; because everyone knows that it is really the cat or cats who own and train their ‘owner’. Thelwell clearly knows this. After all, there does remain something ‘magnificent’ in the appearance and superior attitude of a cat.

[Debs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww! I read Thelwell's pony books a lot as a child, having an unhealthy equine obsession, but I didn't know until recently he had produced a book about cats! I love it, the illustrations, the humour, everything. Made me really smile. 😊

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

So you have a cat?

I bet you see it in this book.

Wonderful book about being bossed around by a cat.

[Kate Bainbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up with the horse books that Thelwell wrote so when I saw Magnificat it was a no brainer that it had found a forever home with me!

I loved it! The illustrations are hilarious, the written just wonderful and as the horse books I loved growing up I LOVED this book!!

I could also relate to most of it having my own furball cat. If he had the ability to read he would also love this book!!!

Now to dig out the horse books and revisit them!!

[Edmund Chattoe-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a couple of these in succession makes me realise that it is hard to give each one a distinctive review but that is because he is so consistently good. The stylish drawing doesn't flag, the ironic captions are well in place and the range of topics is impressive. Obviously this one is about cats not horses but the quality completely holds up. If you like Thelwell you'd have no reason not to like this. If you've never tried him (but like cartoons) you should really give them a go.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and amusing!

[Pollyanna M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thelwell’s illustrations are just a general part of growing up around animals, and I’ll never stop enjoying them.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. I was in quite a bad mood when I picked this up, but was pleasantly surprised that I was actually happier after reading this book.

[Amanda Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tongue in cheek, all about cats and there relationship to humans great quick read.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every cat owner will emphasise with the many situations within the pages of 'thelwell's Magnificat'.

The Magnificat is first described, in illustrations of course with suitable amusing captions, before we run through 'How to Get a Cat', 'Cat about the House', definitely situations that every cat lover will have encountered, 'Helath & Safety', 'Interesting Breeds', 'A Cat in Hell's Chance', has the owner ever got one?, 'Superstition', Neurotic Cats, surely there aren't any??? - it's the owners!!! and finally 'Tips for Tiny Tots', which sets junior up for a life with cats!

Great fun, great illustrations.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all of Thelwell's books and have collected them over the years. This was one I lost...thank goodness for Abebooks.

Magnificat portrays the domestic cat in all its preening, self-important glory and Top Dog gets to the heart of being a pampered pooch.

[Anne Lydolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute short book that I am sure any cat lover (Sadly I am a dog person) would absolutely love