A Coven of Cats

A Coven of Cats tells the true story of the author’s longstanding love affair with cats. It begins with her experiences of growing up with cats, from the age of four, and continues with the narrative of her ongoing relationship with felines, culminating in her (and her husband’s) love affairs with Burmese: animals that combine the best (and worst) features of cats, dogs and monkeys!

The book is full of humour, high drama and the tragedy of loss. The central characters are the cats but the story revolves around the intimate relationship between cats and their human staff.

A Coven of Cats demonstrates how enriching it can be for humans to share life’s ups and downs with these animals. Far from the aloofness sometimes ascribed to felines, this book shows how loving, exciting and rewarding life with cats can be.

Miranda Aldhouse-Green is Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, Cardiff University. Born and brought up in central London, she studied at the universities of Cardiff, Oxford and the Open University, gaining a Phd in 1981. She lives in Penarth, South Wales, and has held lectureships at the universities of Newport and Cardiff. She is the author of several archaeology books on ancient religion, one of which has won international awards. Miranda sings in three choirs. She has an adopted daughter, a granddaughter and two Burmese cats.

Customer Reviews

5.0

3 reviews

Lorna

This has been a most enjoyable read and both amusing and sad. An excellent read for all cat lovers but a must for Burmese owners or those owned by Burmese. It is very easy to read and really brings all the cats in it to life. I was able to imagine them all. It illustrates the different characteristics of the breed and having been owned by them for many years I can say that each one has their very own personality.
Leonard Parfitt

This is a delightful book to read. It is as if the author is sitting alongside you and telling you the stories personally.. She does this with such an evident affection for each of the cats in her “coven” that the individual traits and foibles will cause you to smile frequently yet, now and again, bring a lump into your throat. What is always apparent is that the author and her human family have had their lives enriched by all those in this coven! Especially, however, by the Burmese who see themselves as appropriate and deserving beneficiaries of human adoration and interaction i.e. play!
Lucy V M Lewis

‘A Coven of Cats’ is a heart-warming and inspiring recollection of the author’s many feline companions who have shared her life. We meet the cats in chronological order and follow their stories against the background of her own life events. In so doing we also grow to understand and appreciate the writer’s fascination for these appealing creatures and her devotion to them. Even if one is not a professed ‘cat person’ the book is so thoughtfully and beautifully written, with both humour and pathos, that it remains an engaging and entertaining read for everyone. Miranda Aldhouse-Green is an accomplished and prolific author in her academic field, and her last more mainstream book ‘Enchanted Wales: Myth and Magic in Welsh Storytelling’ was well received and featured at the Hay Winter Literary Festival 2023. The author is able in all her writing (whether the topic be ancient artifacts, Celtic myths, or fabulous felines) to talk directly to the reader like a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this account and finished it in a matter of days. I laughed out loud in several places and shed more than one tear as well. It is not overlong, numbering just under 200 pages, and is complimented by beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and black and white reference photographs. It is the perfect pick-me-up for a pleasant evening’s read over a glass of wine or cup of tea. I wholeheartedly recommend ‘A Coven of Cats’.

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Customer Reviews

3 reviews

Lorna

Leonard Parfitt

Lucy V M Lewis