Author Lilian Jackson Braun

Some of our blog readers might remember Lilian Jackson Braun, author of the Cat Who cozy mystery series. Sadly she passed away in 2011. 

Her books sometimes drew mixed reviews, as is the case with most book reviews. Some thought her work was simplistic and formulaic, with scanty plotting. Other reviewers praised their warmth and charm. Personally, I enjoyed them. I knew exactly what I was going to find between the covers. And what made Lilian Braun’s books come alive were the cats. For cat lovers, these books were the cat’s meow. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

For anyone who hasn’t read the series, the protagonist was former newspaper reporter, Jim Qwilleran. But his cats, a set of Siamese named Koko and Yum Yum, were the stars. Each book was full of details about cat stuff--purring, eating (lobster, amongst other high class food), playing, and, of course, the cats helping Qwilleran solve his mysteries. Koko and Yum Yum usually did this by being slightly naughty--like pulling a book off the shelf at a most opportune time to give Qwilleran a clue.

Lilian Jackson Braun, was born in Massachusetts in 1916 and began her writing career as a teenager, when she wrote sports poetry for the Detroit News. For years she wrote advertising copy for Detroit department stores. Between 1966 and 1968, she published three novels that gained critical acclaim: "The Cat Who Could Read Backwards," "The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern," and "The Cat Who Turned On and Off." In 1966, the New York Times labeled Braun “the new detective of the year.” She was a hit. What author wouldn't love that? But then she disappeared from the publishing scene for 18 years. That’s a long time to be away from writing novels. Braun said she stopped writing the mysteries because the genre had begun to include more sex and violence. Also, she had a full-time job with the Detroit Free Press that she found satisfying.

When she retired from her job in 1984, her husband encouraged her to write novels again. In 1986, the Berkley Publishing Group reintroduced her work with the publication of "The Cat Who Saw Red." In the next two years, Berkley released four new novels in paperback and reprinted her first three from the sixties. Her series once again rose to the top of the best seller list. 

Braun was an admitted technophobe and wrote all her books in long hand, then typed them herself. She was married twice. Her first husband died. She had been married to her second husband for 32 years when she passed away. 

As an author, I respect another author who writes a successful series that spans so many years. The fact that Braun made a comeback after 18 years of not writing novels is also encouraging—it’s never too late to start again. And she stuck to her guns--there was never any gratuitous sex or violence in her novels.

After Jackson passed away (of a lung infection), her second husband, Earl Bettinger, said her one regret was that her failing health prevented her from finishing her last novel, “The Cat Who Smelled Smoke.”

“She regretted it most of all because so many fans wanted another book,” Earl Bettinger said.

Now that is a true author!