Skip to content

Touch Not the Cat

Touch Not the Cat

GothicMystery
Pages
288
Published
1981
Language
English

Synopsis

Bryony Ashley returns to her ancestral home, Ashley Court, only to find it burdened by debt and shadowed by her father's mysterious death. Her father's last warning about a family curse and a hidden 'Sight' she's inherited weighs heavily on her. Bryony believes a mysterious stranger she's been communicating with telepathically is her destiny, but the crumbling mansion holds dark secrets and inescapable peril.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

DarkTenseMysteriousRomanticAtmospheric
Chosen One

Genres

Gothic Mystery Romance Thriller Suspense

About the author

M
Mary Stewart

Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow was born on 12 September 1916 in Sunderland, England, the United Kingdom. She graduated from Durham University, from where she received an honorary D.Litt in 2009. She was a lecturer in English Language and Literature there until her marriage in 1945 to Sir Frederick Stewart, former chairman of the Geology Department of Edinburgh University, who died in 2001. Lady Mary Stewart was author of twenty novels, a volume of poetry, and three books for young readers, she...

Characters

Bryony AshleyProtagonist
EmorySupporting
Bryony's FatherSupporting
The mysterious strangerSupporting
All characters in Touch Not the Cat

Frequently asked questions

  • Is the title of this book based on a real family motto?

    The title is derived from the motto of the Scottish Clan Chattan, which is traditionally rendered as Touch not the cat bot a glove. This phrase is also used as the fictional motto for the Ashley family within the story.

  • Did the author draw from her own life for any of the characters?

    Mary Stewart incorporated elements of her personal history by basing the character of the vicar, Mr. Bryanston, on her own father, who served as an Anglican vicar in County Durham.