000			02881cam a22003373u 4500
001			78428
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040			_aUtSlPG
041		7	_aen _2iso639-1
050		4	_aPR
100	1		_aRoyde-Smith, Naomi, _d1875-1964
245	1	4	_aThe tortoiseshell cat
250			_a2nd edition
264		1	_aSalt Lake City, UT : _bProject Gutenberg, _c2026
300			_a1 online resource : _bmultiple file formats
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_acomputer _bc _2rdamedia
338			_aonline resource _bcr _2rdacarrier
500			_aRelease date is 2026-04-12
508			_aJens Sadowski and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. This ebook was created in honour of Distributed Proofreaders' 25th Anniversary.
520			_a"The tortoiseshell cat" by Naomi Royde-Smith is a novel written in the early 20th century. It presents a witty, gently satirical coming‑of‑age story in pre‑war London, following spirited teacher Gillian Armstrong as her devotion to literature clashes with school respectability and then propels her into the orbit of the magnificently eccentric Lady Bottomley; key figures include Gillian’s practical sister Lilac, the erratic headmistress Mrs. Lysaght, the formidable schoolgirl Jane Bird, and the dryly loyal Miss Fairfax. Themes of language, class, work, and female independence run through its scenes. The opening of the novel follows Gillian at Pelham House, where her lively teaching—drilling vowel-sounds and savoring great lines—wins over pupils but triggers authority’s ire: a hymn-learning row draws a parent’s complaint, and a later French class exalting Racine and Gautier prompts a bishop’s letter, the confiscation of Gillian’s treasured commonplace book, and the headmistress’s decision not to retain her. Jane Bird, brilliant and intimidating, reveals unexpected emotion and leaves Gillian a poem; Miss Fairfax offers brisk sympathy. The scene shifts to the sisters’ life in the women’s residential “Hen House,” briskly sketched through its caretakers and politics, before Mrs. Barraclough steers Gillian toward new work. An opulent Knightsbridge interview secures her a post with Lady Bottomley—under the house pseudonym “Miss Macfarlane”—with peculiar rules (no shorthand, imitate her hand, vow not to marry for three years) and duties that promise concerts, letters, and a plunge into high-society eccentricity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
534			_pOriginally published: _cNew York: Boni & Liveright, 1925
653			_aYoung women -- Fiction
653			_aLesbians -- Fiction
653			_aLondon (England) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction
856	4	0	_uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78428
999			_c119148 _d119148