Beware the Cat:the First English Novel

"Beware the Cat" (1533) is the earliest original piece of long prose fiction in English. It has the distinction of being the first English "novel," far surpassing in narrative sophistication such immediate predecessors as Elyot's "Image of Governance" or Borde's "Scoggin's Jests." This edition, besides providing a modernized text of the novel, also identifies the pseudonymous author of "Beware the Cat" as William Baldwin, better known as editor and principal author of the enormously popular "Mirror for Magistrates" (1559). The development of early English prose fiction is thoroughly documented in two informative and wide-ranging appendices. William Baldwin's place in this tradition, as well as his innovative narrative art, is discussed in the introduction, which also provides biographical information on the author, historical background to his novel, and insight into the political and religious turmoil of the middle years of the sixteenth century.Ringler, William A., Jr. is the author of 'Beware the Cat:the First English Novel' with ISBN 9780873280877 and ISBN 0873280873.