Rereading: CAPT. KIDD’S CAT by Robert Lawson

1984 paperback reprint of the 1956 hardcover.

This book was intended to attract the same readers who had enjoyed Lawson’s “Ben and Me” about the mouse behind Ben Franklin’s success, but the story is not as appealing.

McDermot is a black and white cat with a ruby ring in his ear, a ship’s cat for the pirate Captain Tom Tew, who had retired to a fine house in Rhode Island, which McDermot enjoyed. But word comes that times and politics are about to make trouble for pirates, and Tew decides to ship out again. He leaves his cat with New York merchant William Kidd, also a former pirate, but Kidd’s fortunes are about to change as he becomes a pawn of British and American politics. Kidd is charged with the task of hunting down pirates in a new ship, Adventure Galley, much against his will, but his commission comes from the king of England, and is backed by several powerful men of his court, so Kidd must oblige. Kidd doesn’t want to hunt down his pirate friends, and puts out word to warn them. His commission is only good for ships flying under the French flag. At home, Kidd’s wife Sarah, a battleaxe, is fine with his new job as long as he brings her back the Turkish carpet she wants. McDermot goes along for the voyage, even though he expects trouble.

Kidd’s voyage does not go well, as he finds no ships to capture for some time, and much of his crew mutinies. After many hardships and misadventures, he finally takes a valuable prize and heads back toward America, but on the way finds out that politics have made him a scapegoat, a declared pirate himself, and in danger of hanging if he’s caught. Kidd refuses to believe the King and his supporters will turn on him, and that becomes his downfall.

Unlike “Ben and Me,” McDermot does not talk to people in the story, though he does narrate it. The cat provides help by letting Kidd know when he detects trouble or treachery through the use of his claws on Kidd’s knee, and the beleaguered captain takes the cat’s advice to heart…until the end, when he won’t listen and is captured. The story is interesting, but rather sad in the end, and as a reader I became frustrated with the bad luck and treachery that stymied a good man at every turn. The cat’s own story ends well, but that wasn’t enough to make me like the book overall. It is full of what seems like authentic pirate information, and Lawson’s version of Kidd’s life is at least plausible when compared to known facts. Wonderful illustrations, as always, though the enpaper map is a bit hard to read at this small size. Mildly recommended.

The post Rereading: CAPT. KIDD’S CAT by Robert Lawson appeared first on Todd's Blog.