A Tale of Two Lions

the long version

""My Dear Sister, I'm writing to warn you: Cattino - the cat who is soon to arrive at your house with my wife - is really a lion," laments Lorenzaccio, the Italian count. Refined, elegant, suave, and cunningly masquerading as an ordinary housecat, Cattino is at home among the villas of the Italian gentry and has stolen the heart of the contessa, much to the dismay of her brooding husband." "Meanwhile, in Nairobi, a chronically unemployed Kenyan, Jeremiah, is hired to don a pit helmet and riding crop, taking his place as jungle sentry in a colonial museum. His ward? A stuffed lion named Pasha. But with his transfixing eyes, "each like a black sun," Pasha reveals himself as a regal animal indeed, as he rouses himself and escapes into the night." "As this novel of passion and obsession draws to a close, the two captivating felines find their way to center stage. Entrancing a new master (or subject?), the cape-wearing debt-ridden owner of an Italian traveling circus, Pasha and Cattino become stars."--Jacket.