Tiger Cat

Keller, David H. (David Henry), 1880-1966Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 33K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Tiger Cat by David H. KellerAuthor: Keller, David H. (David Henry), 1880-1966,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 31, 2010

Editor's review

Tiger Cat is a short fantasy story by David H. Keller, released free through Project Gutenberg and an example of early American genre fiction with elements of the fantastic and the eerie. Keller was a psychiatrist by training, and his fantasy fiction often approaches its material from a medical perspective, setting rational observation alongside supernatural premises to create a cool, restrained narrative texture. The book is short and serves as a sample of early twentieth-century American genre fiction, as well as a title for researchers examining the public-domain literary works in the Project Gutenberg catalog. Readers can finish it in a single sitting on a commute or before bed and experience the suspense-building and reversal typical of early genre writing. Note that this is an English short story from an earlier era: its language is distant from contemporary popular fiction and its pacing is slow. It is best approached as both a literary historical document and a genre read, rather than judged by the standards of modern thrillers for intensity.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early American fantasy and short genre fiction
Literature enthusiasts studying public-domain e-books and Project Gutenberg selections
English learners seeking short original English texts for extensive reading
Readers who enjoy strange tales by authors with medical backgrounds

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting modern fast-paced thrillers or full-length narrative arcs
Beginners not yet proficient in English reading who need annotated Chinese translations
Readers who prefer serious academic monographs to literary works

Reading tips

Read through once for the plot, then revisit details to see how the author uses rational narration to set up strange turns.
Consider Keller's background as a psychiatrist and reflect on the tension between the rational and the uncanny in the story.
As extensive English reading material, finish it in one go and note new words rather than reading sentence by sentence.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a short story?

According to the Project Gutenberg entry, this is a work by Keller and is short enough to read in one or two sittings. The entry does not list a page count, so readers can plan their time with a short story in mind.

Do I need to know the author's background to understand it?

No. The story can be read on its own. Knowing that Keller was a psychiatrist who often wrote fantasy helps explain the way rational observation and supernatural elements sit side by side in his narration, but it is not a prerequisite for following the plot.

Why is this book free on Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg was founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and was the earliest project to offer free e-books. This work is in the public domain, so the project can release it free for readers to enjoy.

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About the author

Keller, David H. (David Henry), 1880-1966 Author · American · 1880–1966

David H. Keller (1880–1966) was an American psychiatrist and a writer of science fiction and horror. His work appeared mainly in early pulp magazines, and two of his titles are held in this collection: Tiger Cat and The Rat Racket. Public information about his life is limited, so biographical details are difficult to set out; judged by the surviving works, however, he drew on his medical and psychiatric background to build tension in science fiction and horror, depicting strange and grotesque situations and characters' states of mind, with the brisk pacing and concentrated plotting typical of early pulp fiction. As an author combining professional medical training with popular literary creation, he holds a place in the field of early twentieth-century American genre fiction, and his work is still mentioned by enthusiasts of science fiction and horror literature.