Carbonel: The King of the Cats
 Recent paperback edition cover | |
| Author | Barbara Sleigh |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Carbonel series |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Puffin Books |
Publication date | 1955 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Followed by | The Kingdom of Carbonel |
Carbonel: the King of the Cats is a children's book by Barbara Sleigh, first published by Puffin Books in 1955, and in the US by Bobbs-Merrill, 1955. It is based on the old folk tale from the British Isles[1] "The King of the Cats" and has two sequels, The Kingdom of Carbonel (Puffin, 1961) and Carbonel and Calidor: Being the Further Adventures of a Royal Cat (Kestrel Books, 1978), making up the Carbonel series. The first edition of Carbonel was illustrated by V. H. Drummond, and of Kingdom by D. M. Leonard.
Plot summary
The plot concerns a girl named Rosemary who buys a broom and a cat from an untidy woman in the marketplace. When the cat starts talking to her she learns that she has encountered a witch, selling up to start a new career. Moreover, the cat, Carbonel, just happens to be King of the Cats, presumed missing by his subjects ever since the witch Mrs. Cantrip abducted him. Unfortunately he cannot return to his throne until the enslavement spell Mrs. Cantrip cast on him is undone, so Rosemary, together with her friend John, have to learn a little witchcraft and to track down Mrs. Cantrip for her at best ambivalent help.
Characters in "Carbonel: the King of the Cats"
- Rosemary – who buys Carbonel
- Carbonel – the cat protagonist
- Mrs. Cantrip – kidnapper of Carbonel and a witch
- John – Rosemary's friend
Release details
- 1955, UK, Puffin Books ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1955, paperback (First edition)
- 1957, UK, Atheneum ISBN 0-672-50241-0, Pub date ? January 1957, hardback
- 1970, UK, Puffin Books ISBN 0-14-030155-0, Pub date 29 January 1970, paperback
- 1975, UK, Viking Children's Books ISBN 0-7226-6475-3, Pub date 31 December 1975, hardback
- 2004, USA, New York Review of Books ISBN 1-59017-126-8, Pub date ? Nov 2004, hardback
- 2005, UK, Puffin Books ISBN 0-14-131973-9, Pub date 25 August 2005, paperback (forthcoming)
Carbonel (the first book) is currently (as of 2005) in print in hardback in the US as part of the New York Review Children's Collection. The UK paperback was reprinted in August 2005 by Puffin.