In Cat People, Michael Korda, the New York Times bestselling author of Horse People, and his wife, Margaret, provide a wildly entertaining look at the world of cat lovers – and their devotion to their pets.

With characteristic wit, self-effacing charm, and sheer, exuberant love of a good cat story, they recount their lives as ‘cat people,’ beginning with Margaret’s passion for cats (and Michael’s reluctant midlife transformation into a cat person), and introduce readers to a hilarious assortment of people whose lives revolve – often to an extraordinary degree – around their cats, from Cleopatra, a transatlantic traveller who found happiness in Paris, to Tulip, the epitome of feline dignity.

Here are people who just can’t say no to acquiring another cat, who travel the world with their cats, who build their social lives around their cats – and, of course, here are the cats themselves. The Kordas celebrate the beguiling power of cats, including many of their own who have complemented, complicated, and changed their lives together over the years. Charming, often funny, and sometimes sad portraits populate the book – such as Margaret’s beloved cat, Irving, whose favourite abode was the Beverley Wilshire Hotel, and Mumsie, as well as ‘difficult’ cats like Chui and poor Mrs Bumble, and Mr. McT., the bully who found love late in life. There are graceful cats and cats like Kit-Kat that never look before they jump; in short, countless cats the reader will never forget, even those with cats of their own.

The human characters include such unabashed cat people as one couple who keeps twenty-three cats and orders litter by the truckload; a glamorous New York agent who regularly shares lunch with her cat, Tulip,  courtesy of New York’s finest French restaurants; and many others, ranging from the eccentric to the bizarre. From city cats to country cats, Margaret and Michael celebrate the challenges, the joys, and the occasional heartbreak of living with – and sometimes for – one’s cat.

Here is the perfect gift for any cat lover to give or get, illustrated with whimsical line drawings by Michael Korda.

Michael Korda is the former editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster and the author of Horse People, Country Matters and Ulysses S Grant.

Margaret Korda was born in England and now lives with her husband and cats in Dutchess County, New York.

Published in Hard back 17th August 2006.

ISBN 0-340-90950-1

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