Catswold Portal [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Eos; Uncorrected Proof edition (1992)
• ASIN: B001BY2F7A
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Shirley Rousseau Murphy grew up in southern California, riding and showing the horses her father trained. She attended the San Francisco Art institute. Shortly after graduation, she married and worked as an interior designer while her husband attended USC. "When Pat finished school, I promptly quit my job and began to exhibit paintings and welded metal sculpture in the West Coast juried shows," Murphy explains. Her work could be seen in many traveling shows in the western States and Mexico. She continues, "But when we moved to Panama for a four-year tour, in Pat's position with the U.S. Courts, I put away the paints and welding torches, and began to write."

She has published sixteen children's books, a young adult fantasy quintet, the Dragonbards fantasy trilogy, and The Catswold Portal. "It was while working on this adult fantasy that I knew I wanted to explore further the fascinating world of sentient cats. I began to see the gray tomcat, whom I knew well in real life, as a feline detective with a brash attitude--and the die was cast. I launched into the Joe Grey mystery series. I like discovering anew with each book how the three cats interact with their close-knit world of human friends--Joe Grey in-your-face abrasive, Dulcie of a gentler nature, and Kit wildly imaginative."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lifetime favorite, March 4, 2005

By 

J. Mila (CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Catswold Portal (Mass Market Paperback)

Like many others writing this review, I read this book a long time ago, before I was in my teens even, and I love this book. A decade later I still like to reread this book from time to time. Not only do I get pleausre from the feeling one gets from revisiting a childhood favorite, but it really is set in a wonderfully imaginative world, with a unique fantasy plot and setting. It's an incredibly easy read, which kind of adds to the charm, and I would almost consider it young adult, if not for the adult situations and language. It's probably the only reason I'm rating it 4/5. It's such a unique story with lovely characters, but it's not necessarily the most complex writing I've seen or the deepest development. However, as an avid sci-fi/fantasy reader I would say that Murphy gives other writers I've read a run for their money, especially this being a genre that she isnt recognized for, if recognized at all. Imagine my dismay after reading this book so long ago to find that no, there are no further books to let us explore these characters or world more, but that she doesnt even write fantasy.....she writes about cats. Still, I will always love this book.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fond memories of reading this book, July 16, 2004

By 

Sarah Sammis "Avid BookCrosser" (Hayward, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Catswold Portal (Hardcover)

I'm glad to see that in the reprint the cover art has been fixed. While the painting on the first edition is well executed it has NOTHING to do with the story. The new cover art is closer to correct, though I would have loved to see the little calico standing in front of the ornately carved blue door rather than inside the tool shed. I guess the door would have been quite difficult to do justice.

I also have to admit that once I was about 1/3 through this book, I realized and remembered that I had read this book when it had first come out (but had forgotten much of the plot). I can recall reading it for the first time in a salon on State Street as a freshman at UCSB. I remember thinking it would be cool to have a calico cat (I now do). And I remember being annoyed by the cover art.

One piece that confused me about the story is the timing of the events. Only until the last chapter and the epilogue is the story given a timeline of 1957 being the "present" but the way San Francisco and Marin are described, pieces of the story feel like they should be taking place either now (late 1990s when the book was written or 2000s if the present was meant to be the near future). Other events make the book seem like it should be taking place in the 1920s or 1930s. I think the biggest sticking point is the mention of an earthquake being strong enough to kill some characters in the back story. San Francisco is known for two big quakes: 1906 and 1989. Of course it turns out that the earthquake in question is completely fictional but I think it would have been better if the timeline could have been wrapped around an actual quake or the city in qusetion moved to a place not so known for two quakes. In other words, I found the odd details distracting at times that I just wanted the plot to take where it wanted to go.

The author though excels at two pieces of this book: her understanding of cats and her ability to describe paintings. It helps that she is an accompished artist in her own right. When she was describing Braden's series of portraits fo Melissa I could see them so clearly! When she was describing the little calico cat, I felt as if she were in the room with me.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readers grow attached to the characters., December 14, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Catswold Portal (Paperback)

This is the best book I have ever read. Murphy's descriptions allow the reader to have vivid pictures of the characters and the places. I can picture Melissa's multi-colored hair and feel her pain when she is captured as a little cat. Even though Alice is never in the book, I fell Braden's and Melissa's sorrow about her death. Murphy develops Braden's love for Melissa as a person and as a cat. By the time I finish reading the book, I have grown very attached to Melissa, just as Braden grows attached to the little cat I would reccommend this book to people who like fantasy and romance.