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‘It was a
house like all the others, but this one had a plus: a black and white
cat of astonishing beauty, who sat in the window, looking out. He was the most
beautiful cat I had ever seen and I often approached on tiptoe and made a little
sign to him as he sat like Machiavelli’s Prince behind the window.
“Tu es le plus beau chat du monde,” I said, making an effort to speak French,
because he was a French cat. He made no sign of having heard and I stayed there,
just gazing at him, hypnotised by his presence and his beauty.’
When Hélène
Thornton moved to a small village in Provence to write and work on her
collages, she never imagined how drastically
her life was going to change, or that a
temporary refuge was to become her permanent home.
She was warmly welcomed by the people of the village who regarded her as an eccentric
Englishwoman, but it was the village cats who truly befriended her. One cat in particular,
Bébé, loved the attention she gave him. An invitation to sunbathe led her to Bébé,
which in turn brought her to the attention of Bébé’s owner, Monsieur, a settled and
ordered
man unprepared for the upsets that Hélène was to bring into his life.
So begins this extraordinary and charming love story of two people brought together by
a
shared affection for cats, at a time in their lives when they might not expect to find new
love.
Drawn together by Monsieur’s cat, their relationship remains forever entwined with
cats and,
of course, with the beautiful black-and-white Bébé. Set amidst the villages, cafés and
houses
of sunny Provence, this is an autobiographical love story with a difference.
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If you would like to buy all or part of ine house mentioned in "Cat
Chat",
please write to : B.P. 45 - 83740 LA CADIERE D'AZUR - FRANCE
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