Editor's Top Picks Sharing the Atmosphere of The Catspaw: Cult Guide

The The Catspaw Phenomenon

The synthesis of form and function in The Catspaw to establish George A. Wright as a true visionary of the 1916s.

In Milville, Kittredge St. John meets his old confederate, Roxane Bellairs, and they decide to "clean up" the town. Kittredge has a scheme, he tells Roxane, which he is going to keep secret even from her. He employs a cultured man, who is the exact double of himself in appearance, and instructs him that his duty will be to represent him at social functions as Kittredge St. John. Roxane works her way into the good graces of Major Holbrook and Mr. Bonwit, of the Milville hank. Society in Milville is entertained at Mrs. Shackleton's ball. The double, in love with Dorothy Paget, leaves after the ball in company with Major Holbrook, for the club for a game of cards. Roxane, who sees what is going on between the double and Dorothy Paget, becomes jealous, believing that the man is Kittredge. During the night of the ball, the Milville bank is robbed, and detectives discover Kittredge St. John as the burglar. The double is arrested but proves an alibi by Major Holbrook. Mr. Bonwit is in love with Roxane and lavishes gifts and money upon her. In honor of the engagement, Mrs. Shackleton gives a dinner party. While the guests are in the dining room, the house is robbed and the maid finds Kittredge at the safe, screaming her discovery, but Kittredge escapes into the next house. The double, however, is in the country with Dorothy Paget's family. Believing the double in the country to be Kittredge, the guests discredit the maid's story.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Catspaw perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.