Abstract
In 1815 a cat hoax rocked Chester. Someone plastered the city with handbills offering to buy cats. Hundreds of cats were rounded up and delivered, yet there was no buyer to be found. In the resulting chaos, people were injured, and hundreds of cats were drowned. This story was widely reported at the time up and down Britain. Soon enough it was also told in newspapers and compendia of trivia across the anglosphere. Yet, the Great Chester Cat Hoax never happened; it was a journalistic invention which rapidly transformed into a widely believed urban legend. This did not, however, prevent copycat hoaxes from materialising as pranksters imitated the story, first in the British Isles and then later in North America. The press were instrumental in the evolution and spread of cat hoaxes, and pranksters soon utilised newspaper adverts to engineer new hoaxes. Press coverage of cat hoaxes also evolved, reflecting the changing role of the cat in urban society and emergent anti-cruelty concerns. Finally, the article shows that the meaning of the hoax was tied to ideas regarding ignorance rooted in anti-Hibernian attitudes, as well as gendered and working-class stereotypes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 74-96 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | History |
| Volume | 107 |
| Issue number | 374 |
| Early online date | 21 Sept 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 22 Jan 2022 |
Bibliographical note
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Smith, C 2022, 'The Great Chester Cat Hoax: Creating an Urban Legend in the Anglosphere Press, 1815-1955', History, vol. 107, no. 374, pp. 74-96. , which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-229X.13183 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.This document is the author’s post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History