Jeoffry: The Poet's Cat by Oliver Soden Paperback Book

Description: FREE SHIPPING UK WIDE Jeoffry by Oliver Soden Simply unforgettable ... one of the most beautiful and haunting books of recent times – Alexander McCall Smith FORMAT Paperback CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description An inspired an original tale... Jeoffry is the greatest cat in the English language - Hilary Mantel Simply unforgettable... one of the most beautiful and haunting books of recent times - Alexander McCall Smith A heart-lifting delight; I absolutely loved it. A triumph - Alexandra Harris For I am possessed of a cat, surpassing in beauty Jeoffry was a real-life tomcat who lived 250 years ago. His fame came much later, when fragments of a poem written by his owner were dusted off in a private library. The seventy-four lines in praise of Jeoffry are now among the most anthologised verse in the English language and have even been set to music. Biographer Oliver Soden combines meticulous research with brilliant invention to tell the whole story of Jeoffry, a cat who was the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped. The narrative moves from the infamous bordellos of Covent Garden to the lunatic asylum in which Jeoffry found himself confined with the brilliant and unstable Christopher Smart. In exchange for companionship during the darkest moments of his illness and incarceration, the poet would reward Jeoffry with the greatest tribute to a feline ever written. At once whimsical and profound, JEOFFRY THE POETS CAT mingles fact with fiction to recount Jeoffrys life and adventures against the roaring backdrop of eighteenth-century London. AUTHOR: Oliver Soden is a writer and broadcaster. His first book, an authorised biography of the composer Michael Tippett, was a Book of the Year in the SPECTATOR, TLS and OBSERVER and won the Storytelling Award from the Royal Philharmonic Society. Sodens essays and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of publications including the GUARDIAN, LITERARY REVIEW and ART NEWSPAPER. Born in 1990, he grew up in Bath and Sussex, and lives in London. 12 colour illustrations Author Biography Oliver Soden is a writer and broadcaster. His first book, a biography of the composer Michael Tippett, was a Book of the Year in the Observer, Times Literary Supplement and Spectator. It was shortlisted for the Elizabeth Longford Prize and won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Storytelling. Sodens essays and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of publications including the Guardian, Literary Review and Art Newspaper. He grew up in Bath and Sussex, and lives in London. Review Jeoffry is the greatest cat in the English language, and here are his life and times, wittily and deftly imagined, entwined with a memoir of Kit Smart, lunatic and poet, and the London he shared with Samuel Johnson and his cat Hodge. An inspired and original tale -- Hilary Mantel, author of The Mirror and the LightSimply unforgettable ... Oliver Soden has written a little masterpiece ... The life and times of Jeoffry, the cat described in Smarts famous poem, are imagined here by Soden in one of the most beautiful and haunting books of recent times. This is a book to savour, reflect upon, and give to friends ... It is beautifully written. It is gentle. It is full of historical detail and whimsy, in more or less equal measure. It is a complete treat ... a lovely, enchanting piece of work -- Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No. 1 Ladies Detective AgencyThis is an intensely poignant portrait of a celebrated cat. Jeoffrys tale is both simple, in its feline perspective of eighteenth-century life, and complex, in its vivid detail, so expertly and engagingly marshalled. It is told with vibrant pace and energy, embraces shocking violence and exquisite tenderness, and is bejewelled with a rich cast of cultural luminaries. As we follow the irresistible subject towards and through his interaction with the poet who would give him his immortality, we smell the streets and the confined spaces, we suffer the blows, we weep the tears. This beautifully written and highly affecting book is a must-read for lovers of poetry, of the eighteenth century, and of cats -- Jane Glover, author of Handel in LondonA heart-lifting delight; I absolutely loved it. A triumph -- Alexandra Harris, author of WeatherlandJeoffry: The Poets Cat is an engrossing recreation of eighteenth-century London at its grittiest, from brothels to insane asylums, as seen through the eyes of a famous cat. The blend of scrupulous scholarship with imaginative invention is wonderfully effective -- Leo Damrosch, author of The ClubA bracing and heartfelt scamper through Georgian London, and the life of a much-loved cat – like Jeoffry himself, this delightful book is an irresistible mixture of gravity and waggery. With its supporting cast of eighteenth-century luminaries such as Handel, Dr Johnson and the bloated brothel-keeper Mother Douglas, this is a carefully researched and beautifully imagined feline biography -- Emily Brand, author of The Fall of the House of ByronAn absolute classic … Oliver Soden combines the originality of wit and concept found in Virginia Woolfs Flush with an intimate portrayal of the humanity of a cat that T.S. Eliot understood so well. I found myself so gloriously moved and entertained by Jeoffry who has leapt purring and stretching, hunting and curling his way into my heart -- Juliet Nicolson, author of A House Full of DaughtersMr Sodens delightful, insinuating book curls around your thoughts and tickles you with its whiskers ... Soden jokes that if Jubilate Agno is a magnificat (a song of praise to God), the Jeoffry verses are a magnifi-cat. His own magnifi-cat recreation, bound in cloth-covers and sporting a Gainsborough kitty, would make a fine stocking filler - silk, buckled or gartered * The Economist *Oliver Soden has done for Christopher Smarts cat Jeoffry what Virginia Woolf did for the Brownings dog, Flush. Except hes made a much better job of it. This is a beautifully written, wise and wonderfully entertaining account of loyalty and the meaning of biography. Smarts cat was indeed a magical being, and Oliver Soden has plucked a wealth of literary art from the cats life and from Smarts unforgettable vision. I intend to give a copy to everybody I like -- Andrew OHagan, author of MayfliesI greatly enjoyed this book ... Oliver Soden has found a really vivid "ground-level" way to capture Georgian London, and as soon as Smart comes on the scene a most moving chemistry develops between the cat who has no words and the poet who is adrift in them -- Ann Wroe, author of Francis Long Description One of the most beautiful and haunting books of recent times Alexander McCall Smith Inspired and original Hilary Mantel A book to cherish TLS Jeoffry was a real cat who lived 250 years ago, confined to an asylum with Christopher Smart, one of the most visionary poets of the age. In exchange for love and companionship, Smart rewarded Jeoffry with the greatest tribute to a feline ever written. Prize-winning biographer Oliver Soden combines meticulous research with passages of dazzling invention to recount the life of the cat praised as a mixture of gravity and waggery. The narrative roams from the theatres and bordellos of Covent Garden to the cell where Smart was imprisoned for mania. At once whimsical and profound, witty and deeply moving, Sodens biography plays with the genre like a cat with a toy. It tells the story of a poet and a poem, while setting Jeoffrys life and adventures against the roaring backdrop of eighteenth-century London. Review Quote "A book to cherish." --A Book of the Year in the Times Literary Supplement Jeoffry is the greatest cat in the English language, and here are his life and times, wittily and deftly imagined , entwined with a memoir of Kit Smart, lunatic and poet, and the London he shared with Samuel Johnson and his cat Hodge. An inspired and original tale --Hilary Mantel, author of The Mirror and the Light Simply unforgettable ... Oliver Soden has written a little masterpiece ... The life and times of Jeoffry, the cat described in Smart s famous poem, are imagined here by Soden in one of the most beautiful and haunting books of recent times . This is a book to savour, reflect upon, and give to friends ... It is beautifully written. It is gentle. It is full of historical detail and whimsy, in more or less equal measure. It is a complete treat ... a lovely, enchanting piece of work --Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency An absolute classic ... Oliver Soden combines the originality of wit and concept found in Virginia Woolfs Flush with an intimate portrayal of the humanity of a cat that T.S. Eliot understood so well. I found myself so gloriously moved and entertained by Jeoffry who has leapt purring and stretching, hunting and curling his way into my heart --Juliet Nicolson, author of A House Full of Daughters "Its at once a sly introduction to Christopher Smart and the literary milieu of 18th-century London ...and a cats-eye view of 18th-century social history... IAll biographies adopt points of view, make suppositions, put fictional flesh on the bones of the facts the record gives us; and their test is how persuasively they do so. This one does so with great panache and not a little of the writerly flourish ." Sam Leith, Spectator "Sodens delightful, insinuating book curls around your thoughts and tickles you with its whiskers." Economist "Oliver Soden has done for Christopher Smarts cat Jeoffry what Virginia Woolf did for the Brownings dog, Flush. Except hes made a much better job of it. This is a beautifully written, wise and wonderfully entertaining account of loyalty and the meaning of biography . Smarts cat was indeed a magical being, and Oliver Soden has plucked a wealth of literary art from the cats life and from Smarts unforgettable vision. I intend to give a copy to everybody I like." Andrew OHagan, author, Mayflies Description for Sales People Gives cat lovers their very own Flush , Virginia Woolfs classic biography of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Brownings spaniel Introduces readers to Christopher Smart, an overlooked contemporary of Dr Samuel Johnson: His poem about his cat is to all other poems about cats what the Iliad is to all other poems on war - T. S. Eliot A perfect book for lovers of cats, poetry, and literary London html Details ISBN0750999314 Author Oliver Soden Pages 208 Year 2022 ISBN-10 0750999314 ISBN-13 9780750999311 Format Paperback Edition 2nd Imprint The History Press Ltd Place of Publication Stroud Country of Publication United Kingdom Publisher The History Press Ltd AU Release Date 2022-02-24 NZ Release Date 2022-02-24 Publication Date 2022-02-24 UK Release Date 2022-02-24 Subtitle The Poets Cat Edition Description 2nd edition DEWEY 636.800929 Audience General Alternative 9780750995672 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! 30 DAY RETURN POLICY No questions asked, 30 day returns! FREE DELIVERY No matter where you are in the UK, delivery is free. SECURE PAYMENT Peace of mind by paying through PayPal and eBay Buyer Protection TheNile_Item_ID:134702943;

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