The White Cat: Captains All, Book 10

In Short

W. W. Jacobs’s The White Cat is a dry, humorous tale of village rivalry, greed, and deception narrated by an old local in the Cauliflower pub. When an eccentric villager leaves his property to a neighbor for as long as his beloved cat lives, the rightful heir is left waiting in the wings. What follows is a battle of wits involving suspicious stews, paranoid overprotection, and a local scoundrel who systematically fleeces both parties. It endures as a masterclass in regional English comedy and human pettiness.

The Story

The story opens in the tap-room of the Cauliflower inn, where a visiting traveler buys ale for an old villager in exchange for a local tale. The yarn centers on young Joe Clark, who expects to inherit five cottages and land bringing in forty pounds a year from his ailing uncle. To secure his inheritance, Joe pretends to adore his uncle’s prized possession: a white cat with one yellow eye and one blue eye. However, Joe’s true feelings spill over when his uncle catches him kicking the feline across the kitchen.

Outraged, the uncle alters his will. Upon his death three months later, the village discovers he has left the entire estate to old George Barstow for as long as the cat remains alive. Once the cat dies, the property reverts to Joe. George Barstow, ecstatic at his sudden fortune, vows to keep the young cat alive for two decades. Joe, pretending to be unfazed, outwardly wishes the cat a long life while the rest of the village speculates on how long the animal will survive.

Fearful that Joe or others will poison the animal, George confines the cat indoors, feeds it tested milk, and takes it out only on a leash—a frantic exercise that results in dog chases and feline fits. The obsession turns George into an exhausted prisoner in his own home. Nearly three years into this arrangement, the cat escapes through a window.

Panic grips the village as George offers escalating rewards up to fifteen pounds for its safe return. Enter Bob Pretty, the village’s cunning rogue. Seeing an opportunity, Bob plays both sides. He convinces Joe Clark that the cat is likely dead and extracts Joe’s furniture, bedstead, and pocket watch as payment for his "services." Simultaneously, Bob extracts fifteen pounds from the desperate George Barstow under the guise of funding a search effort.

Days later, a stranger from a neighboring village walks into town carrying a basket containing the missing cat, having harbored it without knowing about the reward. George is forced to sign a legal agreement paying the stranger five shillings a week to reclaim his pet. Having stripped both men of their assets, Bob walks away rich, while George holds onto the cat for five more years until both die within a fortnight of each other, finally allowing Joe to claim his ruined estate.

How It Unfolds

The uncle's test Old man Clark forces his nephew Joe to pamper his white cat and even discipline his own children for mistreating it. Joe complies outwardly to protect his inheritance, but his resentment grows until he is caught kicking the animal.

A conditional will Upon the uncle’s death, the villagers learn the property goes to George Barstow for the duration of the cat’s natural life. Joe Clark receives nothing until the feline dies.

Paranoia sets in George Barstow obsessively guards the cat, suspecting Joe of dropping poisoned liver in his garden and refusing to let the animal roam free. He even pays a local boy sixpence a week to taste the cat’s milk.

The grand escape After nearly three years of captivity, the cat slips through a cracked window and flees, prompting George to raise a massive ten-pound, and eventually fifteen-pound, reward for its return.

Bob Pretty strikes The village scoundrel, Bob Pretty, exploits the situation by tricking Joe into giving up his home furnishings on the promise of ensuring the cat is dead, while simultaneously taking fifteen pounds from George to "look" for it.

The cat returns A stranger from Ling brings the cat back in a basket, forcing George to agree to installment payments to get it back, while Bob Pretty keeps his ill-gotten gains.

The People

• Joe Clark: A calculating nephew who conceals his hatred for his uncle's pet to secure an inheritance of five cottages. His lack of self-control costs him his fortune, and his desperation later leads him to give away his family's furniture to a local trickster.
• George Barstow: The unexpected beneficiary who inherits the estate on the condition that he keeps the white cat alive. He transitions from a jubilant old man into a paranoid, exhausted wreck who rarely leaves his home for fear of animal murder.
• Bob Pretty: The village's resident rogue and poacher. Opportunistic and sharp-tongued, he effortlessly manipulates both Joe and George, stripping one of his household goods and the other of his cash savings without committing a single illegal act.
• Old Man Clark: The deceased uncle whose obsessive devotion to his two-eyed cat drives the plot from beyond the grave through his spiteful, carefully constructed will.

In Its Own Voice

When young Joe Clark is forced to punish his own son for bothering the feline, his uncle demands immediate retribution:

"Go and fetch 'im and do it 'ere," ses the old man; "that'll teach 'im to love animals."

As George Barstow's paranoia deepens, he refuses to let the animal out, admitting the toll the inheritance has taken on his daily life:

"I dursent leave the house for a moment. I ain't been to the Cauliflower since I've 'ad it, and three times I got out o' bed last night to see if it was safe."

When accused of swindling the villagers while pretending to search for the lost pet, Bob Pretty casually defends his motives:

"I'm a 'ard-working man, and I've got to be paid for my time; it's on'y fair to my wife and children."

What It's Really About

At its core, The White Cat is a satirical look at rural greed, spite, and the absurd burdens of unexpected wealth. W. W. Jacobs uses the conditional inheritance to explore how material ambition corrupts human relationships and turns neighbors into paranoid enemies. George Barstow becomes a prisoner to the very creature that granted him financial freedom, while Joe Clark’s impatience repeatedly undermines his own self-interest. The narrative highlights the triumph of casual cunning over clumsy avarice, demonstrating how an entire community's moral balance can be upended by the simple presence of an extraordinary cat and an opportunist willing to play on human folly.

Why Read It Today

The White Cat remains a delightful, swift read for lovers of traditional English humor, situational irony, and folk-style storytelling. Jacobs excels at capturing the rhythm of village gossip and the quiet absurdities of small-town life. Reading the story feels like sitting by a fireplace in a 19th-century pub, listening to a local raconteur spin a tall tale over a pint of ale.

Readers should be prepared for heavy phonetic renderings of working-class Essex dialect, which requires a brief adjustment period to read comfortably. Additionally, the narrative reflects period sensibilities regarding animal care and rustic discipline that may strike modern sensibilities as somewhat callous. However, these elements ground the comedy in a authentic time and place. It is a perfect pick for readers who appreciate concise, witty narrative arcs where poetic justice is served in the most unexpected ways.