Louisa is horrified and falls into hysterics as Edward tries to calm her down.A wine connoisseur with an infallible palate and a sinister taste in wagers. When she returns from the kitchen, she sees Edward coming in from the garden with black smoke, wet trouser cuffs, and long scratches from his wrist to his knuckle - the implication being he has thrown the cat on the fire. Louisa decides to cook a fancy dinner for the cat, and refuses to let her husband sway her. Edward thinks her plans will make the two of them look like fools.
Her plans are to tell the world, after which, she believes, all the world's musicians will want to come and meet her cat. By this time, Edward has become noticeably antagonistic to his wife's belief, perhaps spurred on by jealousy. She even notices the cat seems to dislike one particular Chopin scherzo, the only piece of Chopin's which Liszt himself didn't love. She notices the cat's warts are positioned on its face in exactly the same positions as those on Liszt's face.
When she gets back from the library she calls for Liszt and examines him. She greets Edward returning from his work by saying, "Listen, my dear, did you know that Theodore Roosevelt was once Caesar's wife?" Despite her incredulity, Louisa appears to believe what she is reading. Finally, it mentions historical figures who were, it suggests, reincarnations of one another: (Epictetus, for instance, is said to have come back as Ralph Waldo Emerson). The book also says you can't come back as a lower form of animal - a fact Louisa chooses to ignore. The book she checks out on reincarnation is assertive about how long it takes one to be reincarnated, stating it takes longer if your social status is higher. Louisa decides to go to the library to find out more about both Liszt and reincarnation. Edward believes the reactions to simply be a trick it was trained to perform, and refuses to take part in his wife's excitement (it is implied he is not as fond of music as Louisa). Edward isn't convinced, even when his wife shows him the cat's reaction to the piano music. Louisa becomes convinced the cat is the reincarnation of Liszt, and informs her husband. The cat seems to be especially enthralled when Louisa plays Liszt's Petrarch Sonnets and Der Weihnachtsbaum, but less impressed with Schumann's Kinderszenen. Immediately, the cat reacts strongly, and it even appears to be "appreciating the work". Louisa begins to play one of her daily concerts, a solitary pleasure that also seems to be one of her greatest passions, and chooses pieces by Vivaldi, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms. While Louisa is admiring the cat's colour, she notices it has warts on his face. After the couple unsuccessfully attempt to send the cat back to its home, Edward decides that if the cat does not leave by the afternoon, he will ask the police to make sure it is returned home. It is part of the Tales of the Unexpected collection.Ī long-haired silver cat is nearly burnt in the bonfire Edward has set up for the autumn leaves, but his wife Louisa rescues it. " Edward the Conqueror" is a short story written by Roald Dahl and first published in the 31 October 1953 issue of The New Yorker.
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