Waiting for Gertrude

Notable occupants of a Paris cemetery are reincarnated as adventurous stray cats in this fantasy tale.

“A fanciful and highly amusing novel. . . . Only Bill Richardson could create such an engaging romp and such original characters. This hilarious tale is wildly original.” —Packet & Times

In Paris’s Père-Lachaise cemetery lie the bones of many renowned departed. It is also home to a large number of stray cats. Now, what if by some strange twist of fate, the souls of the famous were reborn in the cats with their personalities intact? There’s Maria Callas, a willful and imperious diva, wailing late into the night. Earthy, bawdy chanteuse Edith Piaf is a foul-mouthed washerwoman. Oscar Wilde is hopelessly in love with Jim Morrison, who sadly does not return his affections. Frederic Chopin is as melancholic and deeply contemplative as ever, and in honor of the tradition of leaving love letters at his tomb, he is now the cemetery’s postmaster general. Last but not least, Marcel Proust is trying to solve the mystery behind some unusual thefts—someone has stolen Rossini’s glass eye and Sarah Bernhardt’s leg.

Told in a series of amusing set pieces and intercepted letters, this is a delicious tale of intrigue, unrequited love, longstanding quarrels, character assassinations, petty spats, and sorcery that builds to a steady climax at the cats’ annual Christmas pageant.

“A whimsical diversion for the cat lovers among us. Richardson writes convincingly of the feline world, and his affection for cats is apparent. . . . Richardson’s feline creations are more human than human, more cat than cat, their emotional and dramatic range a product of both their past existences and their authentic feline qualities. To spend eternity in their company, Richardson seems to indicate, is a very paradise.” —Quill & Quire