Cat & Fiddle

a novel
Lesley Jorgensen

'This book has that miraculous ability to transport you that all good books should have. It's a charming East-meets-West tale that is funny, poignant, engaging and delicious.'

John Mitchell, Byron Bay Echo

'Jørgensen’s narrative is oh so evocative as she describes textures and details of elaborately woven saris, the aromas and techniques surrounding Mrs Begum’s cooking … and the scenes depicting Munni’s creative spells. Enthralling descriptions you can just sink into. The warmth mixes effortlessly with many touches of humour as Jørgensen takes her readers through the haphazard exploits of this family. Verdict? Thoroughly enjoyable.'

Emma Perry, Coping with Jane

View all reviews

‘Occasionally you love a book so much that it’s difficult to close the door on its world. Cat & Fiddle by Lesley Jørgensen — with its warm, evocative and hysterically funny story — is such a book.’ Five Stars

Good Reading

'Jørgensen's narrative skilfully juggles the points of view of nine characters as the action veers entertainingly from high comedy to moments of touching reflection and revelation'

Deborah Bogle, Herald Sun

'Jørgensen skillfully reconstructs the minutiae of family life in a Bangladeshi household, including the food, the rituals of daily life and the saris … a delightful and irresistible family saga written in a style that is engaging, and imbued with a gentle humour.'

Chitra Sudarshan, Indian Link

'It’s easy to see why Jørgensen’s debut will delight and charm. Her eye for cultural and social detail, dialogue and comedy is sharp and wry. All the characters are just the right amount of familiar and new … With its outward eye, this is a brave book for Jørgensen to have written, observant and reaching.'

Jessica Au, Readings Monthly

'Cat & Fiddle is a big-hearted, clamorous comedy of East-meets-West … a free-spirited feast of a book'

Sunday Age

'A delightful modern comedy of manners complete with all the necessary wit, misunderstandings, grasping social climbing, and truths disguised … Reminiscent of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest or P.G. Wodehouse, this is a clever, accomplished novel that had me re-reading passages for the sheer pleasure of laughing out loud again.'

Meredith Jaffe, The Hoopla

'Jørgensen moves [the characters'] stories forward in smart, entertaining episodes that, in shifting third person focalisation, step easily between them … a very entertaining read.'

David Sornig, The Melbourne Review

'Lesley Jørgensen explores the lives [of her characters] with exquisite sensitivity and delicious irony … [her] benevolent storytelling has a whimsical surface on which the most commonplace happenings are greeted with something like wonder … a remarkable accomplishment.'

Michael McGirr, The Saturday Age

'Read Cat and Fiddle for its own sake, not because it owes a debt to Jane Austen or any other forerunner … you won’t want it to finish."

Gillian Dooley, Transnational Literature

'Jørgensen writes beautifully of the clash of cultures … a satisfying and engaging read.'

Bethanie Blanchard, Weekend Australian

'Jorgensen steps so adroitly in and out of the heads of these wonderful characters that it's as if she's at your shoulder, the perfect travelling companion on the novel's journey: chatty, warm, compassionate and funny. An exuberant debut, bubbling with energy and insight.'

Cate Kennedy

‘This charming story of love and family and class and religion is not just for Austen fans — it’s utterly irresistible.’

Toni Jordan

'This is a big, fat satisfying read, which will appeal to fans of books featuring intricate plots, family webs, rollicking love stories … I adored this sprawling, funny novel. This is highly recommended late-summer reading.'

Joanne Shiells, Bookseller and Publisher

Cat & Fiddle centres on two families whose lives become entwined at the country estate of Bourne Abbey. While Dr Choudhury is busy advising Henry Bourne on the restoration of the abbey to its former glory, his wife’s main concern is marrying off their three children, whose chances of good matches are dwindling by the day. Thankfully, the royal family always seems to have a solution to her problems: how to find a wife for a reluctant son; how to manage a difficult father-in-law; and, of course, how not to deal with an inter-faith relationship.

Then there’s the Bourne family. Henry’s wife, Thea, is feeling lost, now that she’s got the lifestyle she’s always longed for. His elder brother, Richard, a successful London barrister, finds himself increasingly drawn to the family home — the inheritance that he’s given up. Meanwhile, Henry just wants to keep the peace, but that’s proving to be tricky …

And, finally, there’s Bourne Abbey itself: the repository of an ancient mystery that links the histories and cultures of the Bournes and the Choudhurys in a way that no one could have anticipated.

'This book has that miraculous ability to transport you that all good books should have. It's a charming East-meets-West tale that is funny, poignant, engaging and delicious.'

John Mitchell, Byron Bay Echo

Emma Perry, Coping with Jane

View all reviews

Good Reading

'Jørgensen's narrative skilfully juggles the points of view of nine characters as the action veers entertainingly from high comedy to moments of touching reflection and revelation'

Deborah Bogle, Herald Sun

Chitra Sudarshan, Indian Link

Jessica Au, Readings Monthly

'Cat & Fiddle is a big-hearted, clamorous comedy of East-meets-West … a free-spirited feast of a book'

Sunday Age

Meredith Jaffe, The Hoopla

'Jørgensen moves [the characters'] stories forward in smart, entertaining episodes that, in shifting third person focalisation, step easily between them … a very entertaining read.'

David Sornig, The Melbourne Review

Michael McGirr, The Saturday Age

'Read Cat and Fiddle for its own sake, not because it owes a debt to Jane Austen or any other forerunner … you won’t want it to finish."

Gillian Dooley, Transnational Literature

'Jørgensen writes beautifully of the clash of cultures … a satisfying and engaging read.'

Bethanie Blanchard, Weekend Australian

Cate Kennedy

‘This charming story of love and family and class and religion is not just for Austen fans — it’s utterly irresistible.’

Toni Jordan

BUY EBOOK

Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 210mm × 135mm

Extent:512pp

ISBN (13):9781921844720

RRP:$29.99

Pub date:4 Feb 2013

Rights Held: World

Rights Sold: North America (PRH)

High-res cover:Download Image

AWARDS

2011 CAL Scribe Fiction Prize - Winner

CATEGORIES / tags

AUTHOR

Lesley Jorgensen

Lesley Jørgensen trained as a registered nurse while also completing simultaneous arts and law degrees, and has worked as a medical-negligence lawyer in Australia and England. While in England, she married into a Muslim Anglo–Bangladeshi family. She now lives in Adelaide with her two children. _Cat & Fiddle_ is her first novel.