Lilian Jackson Braun (1913–2011)
Author of The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
About the Author
Lilian Jackson Braun was born on June 20, 1913. After starting out as a copywriter for Detroit department stores, she worked for The Detroit Free Press for nearly 30 years. In the 1960s, her cat died in a fall from a 10th-floor window in Detroit. Neighbors later told her that someone pushed the show more cat. To work through her feelings, she wrote a short story based on the incident. The result was her first three novels, The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, and The Cat Who Turned On and Off. After an 18-year break, she published The Cat Who Saw Red. During her lifetime, she wrote 29 titles in The Cat Who... series. She died on June 4, 2011 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the age of 97. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who… Could Read Backwards, Ate Danish Modern, Turned On and Off (1991) 361 copies, 2 reviews
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards / The Cat Who Saw Red / The Fluppie Phenomenon / SuSu and the 8:30 Ghost (2001) 7 copies
Lilian Jackson Braun 2-in-1 Edition, Volume 1: The Cat Who Blew the Whistle and The Cat Who Came to Breakfast (2018) 5 copies
The Cat Who... Books 5-6 5 copies
The Cat Who ... (2, 5, 8, 16, 17) 4 copies
Kot który wyczuł pismo nosem tom 23 4 copies
The Cat Who Series Complete Set 3 copies
Lilian Jackson Braun 2-in-1 Edition, Volume 2: The Cat Who Said Cheese and The Cat Who Tailed a Thief (2018) 3 copies
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare | The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts | East Side Story | Tragedy on New Year's Eve (2004) 2 copies
The Cat Who ... (7, 21) 2 copies
The Cat Who ... (9, 20, 24) 2 copies
The Cat Who Wasn't There 2 copies
The Sin of Madame Phloi 1 copy
HIl Igatto che dava i numeri 1 copy
3 In 1 1 copy
Kot który wąchał klej tom 8 1 copy
Kot który czytał wspak tom 1 1 copy
Kot który jadał wełnę tom 2 1 copy
Kot który lubił sery tom 18 1 copy
The Cat Who ... (13-16) 1 copy
The Jaguar Hunter 1 copy
The Cat Who [3 Stories] 1 copy
Lilian Jackson Braun 2-in-1 Edition, Volume 3: The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal and The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (2018) 1 copy
The Tail of the Tipoff 1 copy
The Cat Who ... (2, 7, 18) 1 copy
The Cat Who ... (2, 10, 20) 1 copy
The Cat Who ... (11-15) 1 copy
The Cat Who Knew Too Much 1 copy
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle 1 copy
The Cat Who ... (16-20) 1 copy
The Cat Who Went Bananas (The Cat Who… Mysteries, Book 27): A quirky feline mystery for cat lovers everywhere (The Cat Who...) (2013) 1 copy
Three Complete Novels 1 copy
Associated Works
A Taste of Murder: Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers (1999) — Contributor — 48 copies, 1 review
Reader's Digest Select Editions 1999 v02 #242: The Simple Truth / Rainbow Six / Cloud Nine / The Cat Who Saw Stars (1999) — Contributor; Author — 47 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books 1996 v04: Notorious / Snow Wolf / The Cat Who Said Cheese / Mirage (1996) — Author — 36 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books 1993 v06: The Cat Who Went Into the Closet / Homeland / Tell Me No Secrets (1993) — Author — 20 copies
Livros Condensados: O Encantador de Cavalos | Justiça Local | Um Lugar Chamado Liberdade | O Gato que Gostava de Armários (1996) 4 copies
Libros Selectos ( El Pasado Secreto De Suzanne Reardon, Atrapados En El Hielo, Un Hogar Para Kathy, El Gato Que Atrapò Al Ladròn) (2001) — Contributor — 4 copies
RDCBLP v094 The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea | The Cat Who Tailed a Thief (1998) — Author — 3 copies
Reader's Digest Mystery & Intrigue Vol 1: Make No Bones / Just Cause / The Cat Who Moved a Mountain / Hope Against Hope (1992) — Contributor — 2 copies
The Evil That Men Do | The Cat Who Could Read Backwards | No Peace for the Wicked (1966) — Contributor — 2 copies
Libros Condensados Jaque Perpetuo Loup Durand HOrowitz y la Señora Washington Henry Denker PLaga Misteriosa Ken McClure El gato en el closet de los recuerdos Lilian Jackson Braun — Contributor — 2 copies, 1 review
Furious Old Women | A Stranger and Afraid | The Dark One | Tipsy and the Board of Health (2002) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1913-06-20
- Date of death
- 2011-06-04
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- copywriter
editor - Organizations
- Detroit Free Press
- Agent
- Natalee Rosenstein, editor
- Short biography
- She is something of a technophobe and still uses a typewriter.
The history of Lilian Jackson Braun is perhaps as exciting and mysterious as her novels. Between 1966 and 1968, she published three novels to critical acclaim; The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern and The Cat Who Turned On and Off. In 1966, The New York Times labeled Braun, "the new detective of the year." Then, for reasons unknown, the rising mystery author disappeared from the publishing scene.
It wasn't until 1986 that the Berkley Publishing Group reintroduced Braun to the public with the publication of an original paperback, The Cat Who Saw Red. Within two years, Berkley released four new novels in paperback and reprinted the three mysteries from the sixties.
Braun was the "Good Living" editor of The Detroit Free Press for 29 years. She is retired from journalism and is currently writing mysteries full-time. She lives with two Siamese cats and her husband, Earl Bettinger, in North Carolina. - Cause of death
- lung infection
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Willimansette, Chicopee Falls, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Michigan, USA
Tryon, North Carolina, USA - Place of death
- Landrum, South Carolina, USA
- Map Location
- Massachusetts, USA
Members
Discussions
The Cat Who... in Cozy Mysteries (September 2012)
Reviews
Only Steven Spielberg as creator of ET could find me charmed by a story about an Extra-Terrestrial and Lilian Jackson Braun as creator of "The Cat Who... Series" could find me enchanted by a story with the possibilities of UFO sightings in Mooseville. I simply love this series from the author's continued dedication of each novel to "The husband who..." to reading the next adventure of James (Qwill to his friends) Qwilleran, to the sleuthing feline assistance by clue master Koko and the show more lovely and playful Yum Yum, to all of the other secondary characters that make this series so captivating to read.
I can best describe reading a novel in this series to my pleasure at eating chocolate. I savor each piece but am always ready for another. For the series, I can hardly believe I've read over 1/2 the series already and I've enjoyed each and every one. Thankfully, there are a few more treats and I know each one will be entertaining. show less
I can best describe reading a novel in this series to my pleasure at eating chocolate. I savor each piece but am always ready for another. For the series, I can hardly believe I've read over 1/2 the series already and I've enjoyed each and every one. Thankfully, there are a few more treats and I know each one will be entertaining. show less
I admit that I have read every single one of Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat Who" books. I used to relish every single one, but I agree with the other reviewers: Lately the books have been getting lamer and lamer.
I, too, think the books are now being ghost-written by someone else. I think the ghost-writing began about five or six books ago. It's not just that the mystery, never central, is now utterly an afterthought in these books. Nor is it that the resolution relies not on acute detective show more work on the part of Qwilleran or KoKo, but on deus ex machina. (Qwill and KoKo used to really sniff around, so to speak.) Nor is it that the style is much coyer than what Ms. Jackson Braun used to use. (I've had it with the endless references to the salt-and-pepper mustache already! It's getting to be a parody of itself!) No, the clincher is the many errors and inconsistencies in The Cat Who Talked Turkey.
Someone has already pointed out that the Siamese take a car trip in perfect harmony in The Cat Who Talked Turkey. We all remember that Yum-Yum howls whenever she's in the car. And what happened to taking KoKo out on the leash? And the last time we were privy to the love life of Gary Pratt, owner of the Black Bear Café, he was mourning a dead girlfriend. When did he pick up the wife who plays such a big role in this book?
The ghost writer not only hasn't read all the "Cat Who" books, s/he hasn't even done much research. In the book, Qwilleran wonders how KoKo could know something if he can't read. But the very first book posits that KoKo can read backwards. Remember the title of the very first book in this series? The ghost writer clearly doesn't!
Also, Eddington Smith's great-grandfather or grandfather is described as a pirate. But, in the original story, wasn't he a highwayman, instead?
The change in tone comes in the very first sentence when there's a quote from the "Qwill Pen": "A town without a bookstore is like a chicken with one leg." Now, the "Qwill Pen," while not exactly Art Buchwald, has never been this ridiculous.
I've been a faithful reader until now, but this book is the last straw. I suspect that there's not one ghost writer, but more than one, and that's why the books aren't just inconsistent with the real "Cat Who" books, but they don't really match each other, either. I hate to say it, but I'm finished with this series. show less
I, too, think the books are now being ghost-written by someone else. I think the ghost-writing began about five or six books ago. It's not just that the mystery, never central, is now utterly an afterthought in these books. Nor is it that the resolution relies not on acute detective show more work on the part of Qwilleran or KoKo, but on deus ex machina. (Qwill and KoKo used to really sniff around, so to speak.) Nor is it that the style is much coyer than what Ms. Jackson Braun used to use. (I've had it with the endless references to the salt-and-pepper mustache already! It's getting to be a parody of itself!) No, the clincher is the many errors and inconsistencies in The Cat Who Talked Turkey.
Someone has already pointed out that the Siamese take a car trip in perfect harmony in The Cat Who Talked Turkey. We all remember that Yum-Yum howls whenever she's in the car. And what happened to taking KoKo out on the leash? And the last time we were privy to the love life of Gary Pratt, owner of the Black Bear Café, he was mourning a dead girlfriend. When did he pick up the wife who plays such a big role in this book?
The ghost writer not only hasn't read all the "Cat Who" books, s/he hasn't even done much research. In the book, Qwilleran wonders how KoKo could know something if he can't read. But the very first book posits that KoKo can read backwards. Remember the title of the very first book in this series? The ghost writer clearly doesn't!
Also, Eddington Smith's great-grandfather or grandfather is described as a pirate. But, in the original story, wasn't he a highwayman, instead?
The change in tone comes in the very first sentence when there's a quote from the "Qwill Pen": "A town without a bookstore is like a chicken with one leg." Now, the "Qwill Pen," while not exactly Art Buchwald, has never been this ridiculous.
I've been a faithful reader until now, but this book is the last straw. I suspect that there's not one ghost writer, but more than one, and that's why the books aren't just inconsistent with the real "Cat Who" books, but they don't really match each other, either. I hate to say it, but I'm finished with this series. show less
When an old friend of his mother's, a nearly 90-year-old woman he's always called Aunt Fanny, offers him use of her cabin on a lake for the summer, former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran decides that a few months away from the bustle of city life and his newspaper job that keeps changing assignments on him might be just what he needs. Moose County, though, is practically a whole different country, and Qwilleran experiences culture shock, even as his old familiar instincts kick in when he's show more certain he's found evidence of a murder occurring.
I keep saying this, but I think this might be my new favorite in the series. Qwill out of his element was pretty great, and the introduction to the area I know he'll be living for the rest of the series was comical in many ways. The inclusion of Koko's latest quirk as hinted at in the title was might have been my favorite so far, and I really liked the little bit of emotion near the end of the book. I loved seeing real friendships begin to develop with people he'll be living amongst soon, and especially enjoyed the few interactions he had with the managing editor of the local paper. Overall, the clash of a true city man trying to understand the far north country made this book different than the previous in a lot of ways, but I really liked it.
To be honest, until I started reading through this series recently, I wondered if I only liked them when I was younger because...well, I was younger. I thought I'd find them silly, pedantic, boring, etc. now. Apparently my reading tastes haven't changed all that much, because I've been enjoying them a lot. I would recommend this book for fans of the classic whodunit & cozy mystery genres. show less
I keep saying this, but I think this might be my new favorite in the series. Qwill out of his element was pretty great, and the introduction to the area I know he'll be living for the rest of the series was comical in many ways. The inclusion of Koko's latest quirk as hinted at in the title was might have been my favorite so far, and I really liked the little bit of emotion near the end of the book. I loved seeing real friendships begin to develop with people he'll be living amongst soon, and especially enjoyed the few interactions he had with the managing editor of the local paper. Overall, the clash of a true city man trying to understand the far north country made this book different than the previous in a lot of ways, but I really liked it.
To be honest, until I started reading through this series recently, I wondered if I only liked them when I was younger because...well, I was younger. I thought I'd find them silly, pedantic, boring, etc. now. Apparently my reading tastes haven't changed all that much, because I've been enjoying them a lot. I would recommend this book for fans of the classic whodunit & cozy mystery genres. show less
I am more than halfway through reading "The Cat Who..." Series and it never fails as a pick-me-up for an enjoyable reading adventure! If characters can be thought of as old friends then I simply love spending time with these old friends from Qwill to Polly Duncan to Arch Riker and his wife Mildred to Fran Brodie and her father Andrew Brodie to Dwight Somers and in more recent offerings Celia Robinson and that's only naming a few. And of course, top billing to the paws of furry friends, Koko show more (short for real name Kao K’o Kung) and Yum-Yum who cohabitate with Qwill and a special place in the heart for Polly's Bootsie.
Polly, Arch, and Chief of Police Andrew Brodie have dismissed Koko's superpowers to such an extent in the past that now Qwill doesn't even share Koko's communications. However Qwill and all faithful readers of the series know that in each novel in the series Koko communicates to Qwill in various ways to help Qwill solve the murder mystery of the hour. I love matching wits with Qwill to understand Koko's clues but too often to count I'm with Qwill in only understanding all of Koko's clues when the mystery has been solved. Until the series comes to a close, I'll keep trying to stay in step with Qwill. I can't imagine which series might ever compare...
Until my reading of this series comes to a close, I will once again be enchanted by the author's dedication...Dedicated to Earl Bettinger, the husband who... show less
Polly, Arch, and Chief of Police Andrew Brodie have dismissed Koko's superpowers to such an extent in the past that now Qwill doesn't even share Koko's communications. However Qwill and all faithful readers of the series know that in each novel in the series Koko communicates to Qwill in various ways to help Qwill solve the murder mystery of the hour. I love matching wits with Qwill to understand Koko's clues but too often to count I'm with Qwill in only understanding all of Koko's clues when the mystery has been solved. Until the series comes to a close, I'll keep trying to stay in step with Qwill. I can't imagine which series might ever compare...
Until my reading of this series comes to a close, I will once again be enchanted by the author's dedication...Dedicated to Earl Bettinger, the husband who... show less
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- Also by
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