When I saw that Mallika of Literary Potpourri was hosting her second Reading the Meow event this week – a celebration of cats in books – I knew exactly what I wanted to read. The Disney film The Three Lives of Thomasina was a favourite of mine as a child, but it never occurred to me to read the book on which it was based until I noticed that Lory of Entering the Enchanted Castle had read it for last year’s Reading the Meow so onto the list it went!
Published in 1957, Paul Gallico’s Thomasina is set in the fictional Scottish town of Inveranoch. Having lost his wife a few years earlier, veterinarian Andrew MacDhui has moved to the town from Glasgow and opened a surgery there, where he treats the pets of the townspeople, as well as looking after the health of the livestock on the surrounding farms. When the novel begins, MacDhui has only been living in Inveranoch for eighteen months and has already gained a reputation as a cold, bitter man who is good at his job but not mentally suited for it:
The gossips allowed that Andrew MacDhui was an honest, forthright and fair-dealing man, but, and this was the opinion of the strictly religiously inclined, a queer one to be dealing with God’s dumb creatures, since he appeared to have no love for animals, very little for man, and neither the inclination nor the time for God.
Since his wife’s death it seems that MacDhui has given what little love he still possesses to his seven-year-old daughter, Mary Ruadh, who is devoted to her ginger cat, Thomasina. When Thomasina becomes ill with a suspected meningeal infection, Mary takes her next door to her father’s surgery and begs him to save her pet’s life. Not pleased at being interrupted at his work and distracted by a difficult operation on a blind man’s dog, MacDhui tells her that Thomasina can’t be cured and orders his assistant to put the cat to sleep. Heartbroken, Mary vows never to speak to her father again and seems to really mean what she says. As the days go by and Mary’s silence continues, a desperate MacDhui pays a visit to Lori, a young woman who lives alone in the forest and is said to be a witch. Can Lori help repair the relationship between father and daughter or has too much damage been done?
Although I was already familiar with the plot, I found that this novel had far more depth than the Disney version and also a stronger religious element. There’s a lot of focus on MacDhui’s internal struggles as he tries to confront the loss of faith that has been with him since his wife died and on the efforts of Lori and the minister, Angus Peddie, to restore his belief in God and the power of love. Lori, a gentle, compassionate woman who tries to heal injured wild animals that others see as worthless, is a lovely character and reminded me a lot of Froniga in The White Witch by Elizabeth Goudge. However, I didn’t find the book overly sentimental because it’s balanced by the darker themes of loss and grief, as well as animal cruelty and its consequences for those who perpetrate it.
I’m sure younger readers will enjoy the chapters written from Thomasina’s own perspective, where she gives amusing descriptions of life in the MacDhui household, but I never really felt that I was reading a ‘children’s book’ and I think there’s enough here for readers of all ages to enjoy. Finally, without wanting to spoil too much, if you think Thomasina’s fate sounds too sad, I can assure you that her story is a happier one than you might expect.
This is book 3/20 of my 20 Books of Summer 2024.
She Reads Novels 
I’ve never heard of this and had no idea that Disney had made a film of it—how fascinating. There does seem to be a small but persistent coterie of children’s writers in the mid-century who had this kind of foundational insistence on the existence and goodness of God, not in the Lewisian Narnia way but as manifested in a recognisably real (or real-ish) world; Goudge is exactly who I was thinking of (though her novels for adults have this too).
I think both the book and the Disney film seem to have fallen into obscurity, which is sad because they really deserve more attention. Gallico’s writing reminded me a lot of Goudge and I’m looking forward to exploring his other books now.
Thanks for this lovely review, Helen. I had no idea there was a Disney film of this but from your reference to it, I can see they’ve ‘Disneyfied’ this story too. Its been a while since I read this book but remember that like you I was struck by its depth as also that this was not a children’s book at all really, with all its layers. Lori was a character I could relate to very much as well. I have read Goudge before but not The White Witch. Must look it up–thank you for mentioning it.
The Disney film is quite faithful to the plot, but leaves out a lot of the religious parts and has more focus on Mary and her friends rather than the adults. It’s worth watching if you ever come across it. The White Witch is one of my favourites by Goudge – I think you would like it.
That’s good to hear Helen; So many have seemingly pointless changes or even characters changing … er character that I’d more or less stopped watching.
Helen, I have long wanted to read this one. Thank you for reminding me of it.
I hope you’re able to read it soon, Sandra. It’s a lovely book.
I had never seen the movie but was also quite surprised at the depth of this little tale. So glad you found it worthwhile too.
I’m pleased you reviewed this book last year or it might never have occurred to me to read it. Definitely a worthwhile read, with more layers than I expected.
I think Gallico had a thing about cats. As I recall, he wrote another book completely from the point of view of a cat that got left when its owners moved away.
Yes, when I looked to see what else he had written I noticed there were more cat books!
He also wrote a series about a guy who investigated the supernatural.
Another title for me to be aware of, and no, I wasn’t aware Disney had adapted it. I enjoyed Gallico’s snow goose novel so I guess I’d find this equally admirable.
Reading through these comments, I think I must be one of a very small number of people who have seen that particular Disney film! It came out a year before Mary Poppins and starred the same child actors, so probably got overshadowed by the later film’s success. I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed The Snow Goose – I’ll look out for that one.
Thank you for reminding me about this book. Those green eyes on the jacket haunted me for a long time. It’s years since I read the book, maybe it’s time to revisit.it. I didn’t know about the Disney series. I wonder how they handled such a sensitive theme.
This would be a good book to revisit, especially if you haven’t read it for a long time. It had much more depth than I had expected and left me with a lot to think about. The Disney film is quite faithful to the book and handles Mary’s grief with sensitivity, but it still always made me cry!
I haven’t thought of that movie in forever! Talk about a flashback. The only thing I really remember about it is the cat’s name. And it never occurred to me that the story came from a book. Loved reading your review…totally makes me want to check the book out. 😀
I’m glad you’ve seen it too, Lark! I was starting to think I was the only one. The book is definitely worth reading – I really enjoyed it.