The Mice Will Play

Hugh Oliver is the former editor-in-chief of the OISE Press.

The protagonist of this novel is a sharp-witted 40-year-old nurse who
has managed to support her expensive lifestyle through a series of
lucrative love affairs. As the novel opens, our heroine assumes the care
of a wealthy old woman while the old woman’s daughter (the “cat”
implied by the title) goes off on a cruise. Having been con-fined to a
third-floor room of the house, the old woman is delighted when the
heroine-nurse brings her downstairs, lavishes cigarettes and alcohol on
her, feeds her exotic meals, dresses her up in finery, and generally
gives her a good time, culminating in a fancy party that is interrupted
by the dramatic and unanticipated return of the “cat.” An
entertaining blend of comedy of manners and Harlequin-style romance.