Kathleen Hale, author of the Orlando the Marmalade Cat books, was one of the great geniuses of the 20th century.

In terms of words + story, I rank her with Maurice Sendak--& like any reasonable person, I worship Maurice Sendak.

Disenchanted with her marriage, she took the advice of her psychoanalyst who prescribed an affair. This, weirdly, tells that story.

The Orlando books are illustrated with the most extraordinary & complicated lithographs. They're brilliantly imagined.

Clearly her marriage was complicated. Her memoir, A Slender Reputation, is also wonderful.

I wonder whether her children or other heirs are the reason it's hard to find her books.