{"id":40664,"date":"2012-10-29T15:00:31","date_gmt":"2012-10-29T19:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=40664"},"modified":"2013-01-31T13:02:42","modified_gmt":"2013-01-31T18:02:42","slug":"edward-lear%e2%80%99s-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/29\/edward-lear%e2%80%99s-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Edward Lear\u2019s Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

He has many friends, lay men and clerical,\u00a0
Old Foss is the name of his cat;\u00a0
His body is perfectly spherical,
He weareth a runcible hat.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Two thousand twelve marks Edward Lear\u2019s bicentenary year. The author is known for many things: his nonsense verse, his nature art, his letters. If you\u2019ve spent any time with the letters\u2014and if you have<\/em>, you know they\u2019re utterly delightful\u2014you are familiar with Lear\u2019s faithful feline companion, Foss. A regular presence, both in word and sketch, Foss, who was adopted by the Lear family as a tabby kitten in 1873, was one of the constants in the author\u2019s life.
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As we know from Lear\u2019s numerous illustrations, Foss had only half a tail: legend has it, a servant chopped it off, in the superstitious belief that this would keep him from straying.
\"\"<\/a>
It is said that when Lear moved, he told the architect of his new abode to replicate the layout of his old house, Villa Emily, exactly, so that Foss would not be disoriented.<\/p>\n

THE HERALDIC BLAZON OF FOSS THE CAT:<\/strong>
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Naturally, when Foss died, at the age of seventeen, he received a funeral with due honors; he has a headstone at Lear\u2019s Villa Tennyson in San Remo. Lear died only two months later.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Edward Lear<\/a>
\u2022 Edward Lear and Foss<\/a>
\u2022 Lear: 200 Years of Nonsense<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He has many friends, lay men and clerical,\u00a0 Old Foss is the name of his cat;\u00a0 His body is perfectly spherical, He weareth a runcible hat. Two thousand twelve marks Edward Lear\u2019s bicentenary year. The author is known for many things: his nonsense verse, his nature art, his letters. If you\u2019ve spent any time with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[419],"tags":[199,8017,7575,9054,7586,9055,157],"class_list":["post-40664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-culture","tag-biography","tag-cats","tag-edward-lear","tag-foss","tag-nonsense","tag-pets","tag-writers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEdward Lear\u2019s Cat by Sadie Stein<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"October 29, 2012 \u2013 He has many friends, lay men and clerical,\u00a0 Old Foss is the name of his cat;\u00a0 His body is perfectly spherical, He weareth a runcible hat. 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