Big Books of 2026
The Cat Who Went to Heaven

Questions About The Cat Who Went to Heaven

by Elizabeth Coatsworth

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Answered Questions (2)

Why was the very strange change of country sanctioned, and by whom? My Original book is set very firmly in CHINA and then I read it's suddenly winged its way across the Sea of Japan to Japan. What's going on? US misguided political correctness? I would LOVE to know.
Michael Fitzgerald Lynd Ward illustrated this for the original 1930 Macmillan publication. He reillustrated it for the 1958 Macmillan reissue. Joan Kiddell-Monroe illust…moreLynd Ward illustrated this for the original 1930 Macmillan publication. He reillustrated it for the 1958 Macmillan reissue. Joan Kiddell-Monroe illustrated only editions published by J.M. Dent. Scans of a 1966 Australian Dent edition I have seen state that the first British edition was published in 1949. This edition begins, "Once upon a time, far away in China".

The scans I have seen of a 1931 Macmillan reprinting begin, "Once upon a time, far away in Japan".

Coatsworth herself stated, "Many years later, in the Pasadena Library, I was to read translations of the rebirths and string them together on the thread of a Japanese legend which we had been told in a Kyoto temple, one day in the enchanted October of 1916."

The crucial facts are that the U.S. edition (Macmillan, 1930) is the original. The Kiddell-Monroe illustrations only are found in 1949 and later editions published by J. M. Dent in Great Britain and Australia (and possibly elsewhere?).

So the book was NOT originally set in China. A change to China occurred only in 1949 for certain markets. Now, I wonder if it was lingering anti-Japanese sentiment after WWII that inspired a change AWAY from Japan.(less)
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I remember this book from the 70s, when a friend gave me a handwritten and illustrated version. Very beautifully done, especially since she was only 14 years old. I now try to discover which original edition she used. The drawings were in a japanese (chinese?) pen and ink style. Black and white. Does anyone know this edition and maybe the name of the illustrator?
Ànthea Yes Karin, - Elizabeth Coatsworth's original story is set in China, NOT Japan. The drawings by Joan Kiddell-Monroe are exquisite and so much better th…moreYes Karin, - Elizabeth Coatsworth's original story is set in China, NOT Japan. The drawings by Joan Kiddell-Monroe are exquisite and so much better than any later versions. No comparison at all.
This lovely old children's book, in my view, has been totally bastardised.(less)
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Unanswered Questions (2)

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