Beschreibung
Wunder auf Samtpfoten
The Most Beautiful Unknown Cat Stories from Four Centuries
by Otto Heinrich von Loeben, Sophie de Ségur, Amalie von Seebach, Albert Ludwig Grimm, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, Ulrich Taschow and Rudolph Müldener
edited, translated, and freely adapted by Ulrich Taschow
and a profound
Cultural History of the Cat
by Ulrich Taschow
with 28 beautiful illustrations by Adrienne Ségur, Virginia Frances Sterrett, Leonardo da Vinci, Philippe de Champaigne, William Hogarth, Ulrich Taschow, and others
386 pages, 28 illustrations, published in 2015, paperback edition, series: avox fantasia, ISBN: 978-3-936979-15-2
Target groups
Cat lovers and friends of cats, classic all-age literature, lovers of historical stories and artistic illustrations
This book brings together a collection of beautiful, imaginative, and moving cat stories from four centuries, carefully unearthed, restored, and brought into a form that is readable today, sure to delight cat lovers and literature lovers alike.
The stories reflect the intimate relationship between humans and cats and also present literary treasures by authors who in some cases have long been unjustly forgotten, although they were famous in their own time, such as the great Romantic writer Otto Heinrich von Loeben (1786-1825), who during his lifetime was held in no less esteem than his kindred contemporary Novalis;
the brilliant Sophie de Ségur (1799-1874), the first European children’s author and at the same time France’s most successful one; Amalie von Seebach (1802-1879), an idiosyncratic and original Weimar writer from Goethe’s later circle; the witty Albert Ludwig Grimm (1786-1872), who together with Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano made valuable contributions to the
collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn; Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy (1650-1705), one of the most productive and famous writers of her time, who already in the age of the French Sun King Louis XIV conducted a renowned literary salon; and further interesting authors ...
Cultural History of the Cat
The special affection human beings have for cats speaks clearly from the earliest traditions of humanity and appears among almost all peoples of the world. In view of the immense number of roughly 12.3 million domestic cats, we currently live in Germany in what is probably the most cat-friendly age of all. The cat is the absolute number one on the popularity scale of pets, far ahead of dogs, and this despite, or perhaps precisely because, the cat is the only pet that cannot truly be domesticated.
This cultural history of the cat attempts to answer the still unresolved question of where this special role of cats in relation to us humans actually comes from. The exciting journey of discovery into the deeply hidden connections between cats and humans in very different times and cultures offers readers not only surprising new insights into the origin and meaning of the domestic cat, but also shows how much we can learn about ourselves through our engagement with cats - an inspiring source of knowledge for every true cat lover.
Contents
Anna and Her Wonderful Kittens 15
freely adapted by Ulrich Taschow from the tale by Rudolph Müldener
The Little Kitten and the Little Mouse 48
by Otto Heinrich Graf von Loeben
Cat Rosaurus and the Little Princess 70
freely adapted by Ulrich Taschow from the tale by Amalie von Seebach
The White Cat 135
by Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy
Blondine and the Enchanted Lilac Forest 170
by Sophie de Ségur
Strange Friendship of a Cat, a Rabbit, and a Guinea Fowl 222
by Albert Ludwig Grimm
Lies Have Cat Legs 238
by Ulrich Taschow
A Short Cultural History of the Cat 279
by Ulrich Taschow
