Imagine, if you will, the ultimate swanky home tour—but with cats on display in every abode. Such are the joys of House Cat: Inspirational Interiors and the Elegant Felines Who Call Them Home, a worthy follow-up to Where They Purr, Paul Barbera’s first fur-ray into the territory of interiors featuring felines. Whereas the former title focused on the lifestyles of kitties across Europe and Australia, the new book features stateside dwellings. We meet Lady Penelope, who “runs a tight ship” in a New York City penthouse full of playful artwork, and who, having developed arthritis, relies on her “obedient human elevators.” Or how about the nine cat buddies shacked up in a Beverly Hills hacienda? The homes here incredibly diverse in style—everything from a Connecticut saltbox to a modern Miami apartment to a glass palace in the Santa Monica hills—but it’s the cats, and the care shown to capturing their distinctive selves and backstories, that really tugs my heart: “Even in her golden age, Evita Gaton has yet to relinquish her hunting habits. The 12-year-old lynx point Siamese is an independent and sometimes demanding presence in her 18th-century home.” There’s even a Q&A for each cat. (Diva or devoted friend? Lap cat or not? And so on.)
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
