Publisher's Synopsis
Unravelling the history of how Victorian and Edwardian Britain fell in love with cats, from the first development of fashionable breeds to Louis Wain's enduring artistic obsession.'He invented a whole cat world' declared H G Wells of Louis Wain, the Edwardian artist whose drawings of anthropomorphic animals became famous around the globe.But while portraits of kittens sipping champagne proved irresistible, Catland was always more than the creation of just one eccentric imagination.Abandoning their previous role as kitchen pest-controllers, cats headed for the drawing room to become much-loved family members. Unlike the homely tabby, the modern cat was more likely to display a magnificent ruff and a pedigree from Persia. As cat capitalism boomed, prize animals soon changed hands for hundreds of pounds among the duchesses and dandies.Join prize-winning historian Kathryn Hughes for a fascinating and feline journey into Victorian and Edwardian society, as well as the prolific illustrator who transformed the image of cats forever, despite his own troubled and tragic life.
