Catland is part early history of cats as domesticated pets in Britain. It's also part biography of Louis Wain - the beloved 'cat artist' whose work features on the cover. The history is not all told chronologically. I found the pinging around made it a bit difficult to follow the timeline of events and remember names of key people that were introduced a dozen chapters earlier. I get the sense that Hughes originally intended this as a sort of soft rebuttal to some parts of Rodney Dale's Louis Wain: The Man Who Drew Cats - another book I own - but I would say it's probably a good companion to that imperfect book. Dale's book (originally published in the 1960s) contributed to narratives that formed around Louis Wain's time in Bethlem Hospital and his declining health, ideas that are disputed by some Wain experts nowadays. Catland directly challenges the common belief that Wain's changing art style was due to mental ill-health or schizophrenia, rather than an intentional choice on his part. I think these sections are where the book really shines, and if you're at all interested in the work and life of Louis Wain it's worth reading for that. I personally could've done without the (many!) pretty dull chapters about in-fighting in cat fancy clubs or the breeding and showing of cats, but those organisations were undeniably important to changing the negative perception of cats for the British public, so I get it. Overall, an interesting and thoroughly researched book!

I feel queasy.