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Chris Kelly’s Downtown Tabby had me laughing from the first page, a guide to the formal feline table setting. For example, a proper place setting contains four milk glasses and one milk goblet. This book is a perfect light-hearted parody of the popular television series Downtown Abbey with a nod to Upstairs/Downstairs and is most cleverly done. You will want to read every word and look at every picture to capture all the humor contained in this little literary treasure. The feature “uninvited but necessary words from the Dowager” is exactly what one would expect from such a feline: “I’m not judging you. That’s far too active a word for it”. I found these quotes to be the most hilarious. The color plates interspersed in the chronology of feline history in the early 1900’s portray cats of this era exactly as they would see themselves. Need I add that the author’s other accomplishments include writing and producing situation comedies? Get reading and start laughing.
Love Downton Abbey? Love cats? If you love cats we also suggest you check out the amazing informative site Cats Online!
Learn about some of the world’s most popular cat breeds. Also find more information about the most popular type of cats that aren’t recognized as official breeds. From Flame Point Siamese to Calico to Munchkin to Siamese to Nebelung, they have it covered! Love them all? If your answer to any of the above is yes, then we have the book for you! Chris Kelly's Downton Tabby is a hilarious spoof of the hit television series, starring - you guessed it - cats! Featuring the "Upstairs Cats," the "Downstairs Cats" (among which are a disproportionate number of cats named "Emma"), and other cats that come into their lives, Downtown Tabby follows the lives of the Downton Tabby cats from 1910-1920. Interwoven into the story are cute little interludes, such as "Uninvited but Necessary Words from the Dowager," "How to Keep a Secret at Downton Tabby," "The Language of the Tail," and "How to Argue with Lord Grimalkin About His Most Deeply Held Beliefs: A Play in One Act." Fun, clever, and creative, Downton Tabby is an absolute must for cat lovers and Downton Abbey fans alike!
Joining the onslaught of Downton Abbey influenced works, Chris Kelly has written a parody of the wildly successful English series, in feline form. That is to say, that one of the writers for Bill Maher has conceived a parody of the show and has aptly named it Downton Tabby. Named thusly because it is cat-based, cat-oriented, and cat-terrific. Mr. Kelly, as an astute and hysterical writer and editor of ultra hip satire, sarcasm, and commentary, composed his own version of life at Downton. The cats are upstairs and downstairs, fully outlined, directed and presented in a somewhat organized, somewhat erratic style where quotes are injected every few pages, and the visuals range from cats in clothes and beautifully drawn character portraits. Let this little book not be for just the cat lovers out there, not just for Downton fans, but for followers of popular culture, and perceptive students of trend. Mr. Kelly, possibly egged on by his editors at Simon & Schuster has married the concept of children's book and alternative tale telling in this hard cover little volume that tells tales, quotes from well known historical figures (which may or may not be real, of course) and rattles through Downton Tabby with precise modes of behavior. How to set the Tabby table, how to hiccup like the Dowager, how to marry off you daughter. Those of us enthralled by the characters in the series will recognize and whoop at the references to names, if not faces, in Tabby. A book to love, and laugh over. Chortling is allowed, too.
And the Madness over Downton Abbey Continues!!! The latest book to hit the shelves this season is “Downton Tabby” by Chris Kelly. This is the perfect book for Cat Lovers and Downton Abbey Lovers alike. The hilarious similarities and parody on the premise of the show really lightens the day. From the portraits of the Downstairs Cats to the over the top litter boxes, one cannot do anything but smile. Adorable illustrations teamed up with clever quotes and ideas makes this the perfect hostess gift for your next cat lover’s dinner party. Please make sure they serve the best caviar!
Downton Tabby is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know!
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Who among us hasn’t had the thought, “Downton Abbey would be so much better if only there were more cats?” Certainly, author Chris Kelly did and set out to rectify this problem. The result? The utterly charming and hysterical DOWNTON TABBY: A Parody.
Set on the stately Yorkshire home of the Earl and Catness of Grimalkin, DOWNTON TABBY tells the story of England’s first family of cats and their servants – their lives, loves, births, deaths, marriages, affairs, prides, prejudices, senses, sensibilities, mills, flosses, cakes, ales, high teas and funfairs, car accidents, scandals, bouts of Spanish influenza, and war with Germany. From Lady Minxy’s relationship with Matthmew Clowder to Lady Serval’s affair with the chau-fur to the constant framing of poor Boots the valet, life at Downton Tabby is never dull for these Upstairs and Downstairs cats. And, of course, Vibressa Clowder, the Dowager Countess, always has something to say about it.
Using a combination of hilarious photographs, which depict some of the estate’s more scandalous moments, and delightful illustrations, Kelly takes us from the sinking of the Mewsitania to the Jazz Age, giving the reader the whole kitten caboodle. Mixed throughout are also essential guides to preserving their Golden Age, including Table Settings (don’t mix up the mouse and stoat forks!), A Code of Conduct for Cats and Gentlefolk (“Never do anything for yourself that someone can do for you”), and some Uninvited but Necessary Words from the Dowager (“Stop licking yourself there, dear, it’s terribly middle class”).
Just in time for the holiday season, DOWNTON TABBY is the perfect gift for fans of the PBS hit show and for cat lovers everywhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Chris Kelly writes for HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. He won an Emmy for his work on Michael
Moore's TV Nation. He's been an editor at Spy and the National Lampoon, a staff writer for Late Show
with David Letterman, head writer at Politically Incorrect, and a writer/producer on a half dozen
network situation comedies, some long-running and some that barely aired at all.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
DOWNTON TABBY
By Chris Kelly
Published by Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781476765938
E-Book: 9781476765945
Visit Simon & Schuster on the web at www.simonandschuster.com