Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth

Time Cat  
Author(s) Lloyd Alexander
Country United States of America
Language English
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher Puffin Books
Publication date 1963
Pages 206

Time Cat (1963) is a fantasy novel by Lloyd Alexander, an American author of more than forty books, primarily fantasy fiction for children.[1] It was his first children's fantasy.[2][3]

Contents

Origins

Alexander succeeded on his first try writing fantasy for children, which he later called "the most creative and liberating experience of my life." The book was Time Cat (1963),[3] a fantasy inspired by one of his pet cats. Solomon would visit the office while Alexander was working, but the author would never see him come or go.[4]

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Plot summary

Jason learns that his cat, Gareth, is able to talk and has the power to travel to nine different points in world history (his "nine lives"). Jason convinces Gareth to take him along and their adventures begin where cats are considered in divine, Ancient Egypt in the year 2700 BC.

Subsequently they visit Rome and Britain (55 BC), Ireland (AD 411), Japan (998), Italy (1468), Peru (1555), the Isle of Man (1588), Germany (1600), and America (1775).

After nine episodes they return home. Gareth says he will never again speak to Jason, and he forbids Jason ever to mention their travels to anyone. It is not a difficult for Jason to obey, since he doubts anyone would believe his story. However, he has acquired a necklace with ankh pendant as a memento and he learns how to communicate with Gareth without talking.

Notes

  1. ^ During research for Time Cat, Alexander studied Welsh mythology for a Wales episode. He decided to save those ideas for another work, and substituted the episode that took place in Ireland. Next year he published the first volume of his most popular work, The Chronicles of Prydain, which is rooted in Welsh mythology.
    Viguers, Ruth Hill; Cornelia Meigs (ed.) (1969). A Critical History of Children's Literature. Macmillan Publishing co.. pp. 461. ISBN 0-025-83900-4. 

References

  1. ^ Lloyd Alexander at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2011-12-29. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
  2. ^ [About the author] (1973). The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain, Henry Holt and Company, first edition, page [88].
  3. ^ a b About the Author (1999). The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain, Henry Holt and Company, revised and expanded, page 97.
  4. ^ Lloyd Alexander Interview Transcript (1999). Interview with Scholastic students. Scholastic Inc. Retrieved 2011-12-17.

External links

The Works of Lloyd Alexander
The Chronicles of Prydain
The Westmark Trilogy
The Vesper Holly series
  • The Illyrian Adventure (1986)
  • The El Dorado Adventure (1987)
  • The Drackenberg Adventure (1988)
  • The Jedera Adventure (1989)
  • The Philadelphia Adventure (1990)
  • The Xanadu Adventure (2005)
Other works
  • And Let the Credit Go (1955)
  • My Five Tigers (1956)
  • August Bondi: Border Hawk (1958)
  • Janine (my wife, that is) is French (1960)
  • Aaron Lopez: The Flagship Hope (1960)
  • Fifty Years in the Doghouse (1963)
  • Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth (1963)
  • The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian (1970)
  • The King's Fountain (1971)
  • The Four Donkeys (1972)
  • The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man (1973)
  • The Wizard in the Tree (1974)
  • The Town Cats and Other Tales (1977)
  • The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha (1978)
  • The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen (1991)
  • The Fortune-Tellers (1992)
  • The Arkadians (1995)
  • The House Gobbaleen (1995)
  • The Iron Ring (1997)
  • Gypsy Rizka (1999)
  • How the Cat Swallowed Thunder (2000)
  • The Gawgon and the Boy (2001)
  • The Rope Trick (2002)
  • Dream-of-Jade: The Emperor's Cat (2005)
  • The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio (2007)
Translations