Cover of The Tiger in the House: A Cultural History of the Cat

The Tiger in the House: A Cultural History of the Cat

by Carl Van Vechten · 1920

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"A god, a companion to sorceresses at the Witches' Sabbath, a beast who is royal in Siam, who in Japan is called 'the tiger that eats from the hand,' the adored of Mohammed, Laura's rival with Petrarch, the friend of Richelieu, the favorite of poets"—such are just a few of the feline distinctions that Carl Van Vechten records in this glorious historical overview of humanity's long love affair with the cat. As delightful as it is learned, Tiger in the Houseexplores science, art, and history to assemble a treasury of cat lore, while Van Vechten's sumptuous baroque prose makes every page an inexhaustible pleasure. (Beware: French phrases are not translated).

Subject
historyhistoryMore like thisLess of thissocial sciencesocial scienceMore like thisLess of this
Genre
historical fictionhistorical fictionMore like thisLess of this
Themes
animalsanimalsMore like thisLess of thiscatscatsMore like thisLess of thisnaturenatureMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
long · 452 pages

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