The Ghost Cat: 12 decades, 9 lives, 1 cat Alex Howard 9781785304484

'A beautifully written cat's-eye view of some 120 years of history. Prepare to be enchanted.'
SIMON BRETT, author of the Mrs Pargeter series

Early morning, 1902. At 7/7 Marchmont Crescent, Eilidh the charlady tips coal into a fire grate and sets it alight. Overhearing, Grimalkin the cat ambles over to curl up against the welcome heat and lick his favourite human's
hand. But this is to be his last day on earth ... before he becomes the Ghost Cat.

Follow Grimalkin as he witnesses the changes of the next 120 years, prowling unseen among the inhabitants of an Edinburgh tenement, while unearthing some startling revelations about the mystery of existence, the unstoppable march of time and the true meaning of feline companionship.

This unique tale provides a feel-good read full of charm for any fan of history, humour and fur-ridden fun. Perfect for fans of Matt Haig's How to Stop Time and V. E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.


'The Ghost Cat is an Edinburgh delight: "mizzle-ridden" days were made for books like this!'
LUCY RIBCHESTER, author of The Hourglass Factory

'A beautiful story'
Tiktok's @beansthegingercat

'Enchanting, entertaining and engaging ... I found this beautiful little cats paws wrapped around my heartstrings throughout the entirety of the book.'
Goodreads reviewer, five stars

'A beautiful love letter to the majestic cat.'
NetGalley reviewer

Alex is an author, editor and theatre professional from Edinburgh. His TikTok page, Housedoctoralex, has nearly 300,000 followers and his been featured on television and in the national press.

A doctoral graduate of English literature, Alex wrote his first book Library Cat (B&W Publishing) while completing his PhD. It won the People's Book Prize in 2017, and has been translated into French, Korean and Italian. He also writes poetry, which has been published in New Writing Scotland, Gutter and The London Magazine, among others, and his academic book Larkin's Travelling Spirit was published in 2021 by Palgrave McMillan.

Alex works at Capital Theatres as a creative engagement coordinator and editor while renovating his Edinburgh tenement flat at weekends, with his cat Tabitha, son Sasha and wife, Ellie.