Chatting with a Tasmanian friend tonight, she mentioned a book by Australian author Bryce Courtney, and this book involved a cat. A cat of “somebody famous”. The “somebody” famous might have been named McCarthey, but as he was also a general, (she said), I wonder if it was McArthur.
Well, that is all the info I have folks, and I’d be so impressed if anyone is able to help.
Hehehe - not least 'cos that way I could show friend how wonderfully good SDMB is!
Thanks in advnace for any further clues.
Matthew Flinders’ Cat?
Scorpio’s right. Flinders is famous (here at least) for circumnavigating Australia. To your Taswegian friend, he is perhaps more famous for his previous circumnavigation of Tassie, which proved it an island (and named Flinders Island in Bass Strait).
YAY! Clever people - thank you so much! I shall enjoy proving to her tht the SDMB is infallible!
Goodness, Scorpio - you replied only 6 minutes after my post? Wow
BTW - I found it really hard to beleive when she sid that Tassie people are “Taswegian” - I thought she was having fun at “Glaswegian” little me, but now I see that the word does exist!
Thanks again, both of you!
It’s not always a favourable term. It’s often used as a backhanded insult - similarly to calling people from Brisbane “Brisvegans”.
And isn’t Bryce a 'bok anyway?
You could’ve looked him up if you spelled his name “Courtenay”
Grrrrrrrrrrr - dammit - oops Guanolad I was daft enough to trust her on the spelling of the name. Bummer! I normally am more cynical than that. So, I DID wonder why Google appeared to be failing me. Trouble is there were hits for the (mis)spelling I used too - sufficient of them to allow me to believe it was the right guy - 'cos I got references to “The Power of One” , so I wondered what was going on.
Well, that will teach me to play with the internet at silly times of night and morning. And it will teach my Tassie friend to be awfully grateful to live outwith the reach of the Wrath of Celyn!
<Celyn feels silly now>
(but still very happy for the help)
oh and yes - took me a while to figure out that 'Bok was South Effrikan! Yes, He was born there but has had Aussie citizenship since 1959.
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/facts/2002/places/brycecourtenay_40.html
Who thinks I should get revenge by sending my friend on a wild goose chase for some carefully misspelt Scottish author? hmmmm
Is it just me, or has the quality of Bryce Courtenay’s works of fiction declined markedly since The Power of One? I’ve read almost every book he’s every written - I’m currently reading an abomination called Jessica*, but none of them even come close to TPoO.
LOL - I hope these great helpful people can answer since I could not even get his name right. Why not ask my mis-spelling friend at her message board for the hell of it?
evil cackle
evil cackle
evil cackle
Seiously, then, is "TPlO the best?
Hmph. Social climber. Then again, he also created the Yowie chocolate line. Not quite sufficient to make up for his prose style and the fact that an ex- made me read all of The (yawn) Power of Onzzzzzzzzzzzz…
He was on Bert Newton yesterday. What’s the deal with him and Louie the Fly?
He makes a lot of money from his books, but his day job is in advertising. He’s credited with creating Louie the Fly for Mortein and the Yowies for Cadbury.
reprise
I don’t think the quality’s gone off. It was never there in the first place 
I liked his one about his son but the rest of them. Yick.
I found April Fool’s Day to be a quite bitter book.
Ah ha so this is where you hide out when I can’t find you online
LOL
Apologise for the typo on the spelling of said author, and am sincerely grateful for the long ‘out’ reaching hand that separates the wraith of Celyn from friend Shanti ;j
I have to question the back handed slap regarding the term Taswegian, coming from QLD we have often be referred to as Brisbanites, and never took it as a term of disrepect. It is more a term of simple comradery between states. (i.e. if you live south of QLD you are a mexican and if you live north of NSW you are a banana bender, these are friendly terms of rivalry.)
Anyway, am pleased I have finally found you. LOL
Shanti