DaVinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Eleven-year-old Sir Federico Gonzaga, son of Duke Francesco II of Mantua and Lady Isabella d'Este of Ferrara is a "guest" of Pope Julius II in the Vatican. He is in fact being held hostage by the pope to guarantee that his father, who leads the pope's army will not be lured away by France. So Federico lives in a villa with his nurse, Celeste, a quarter mill from the pope's residence.

On this night, Federico can see the people attending a banquet. The smells and sounds make him hungry so he sets off to retrieve a platter of figs from the pope's new study. Federico had been sitting in the study in the afternoon while Master Raphael Sanzio painted Federico's portrait. He decides to travel the corridor connecting the villa to the pope's palace. On the way Federico passes a large wooden box.

In the pope's new study, he finds Michelangelo Buonarroti at work. Federico is surprised to see the sculptor, but finds the figs and eventually walks back to the villa. But on his way he hears a sound near the strange box, which upon closer inspection appears to be a kind of closet. He finds a kitten, tawny coloured with black-tipped ears in the closet. After playing with Federico, the kitten enters the closet and disappears. As the bells of the church strike midnight, he hears the cat meowing but when Federico opens the door of the closet, he finds a full grown cat.

The next morning, Federico purchases a collar of red leather trimmed in pearls for the cat who keeps him company through his lessons. That night Federico attends a banquet hosted by a cardinal and his nephew where he learns that the strange wooden closet was a present from the King of France to the pope. Later that night when Federico examines the closet, he notices that the gems in the closet door are glass balls forming the tips of an eight point star with symbols above. The inside of the closet has eight mirrors and on the back of the closet door is a glass globe containing water.

As the church bells toll midnight, the cat leaps from Federico's arms into the closet. But when he reaches in to grab the cat, out steps a man, strangely dressed who asks Federico  where he is and the date. Federico tells him it is 1511 and he is in the Vatican Palace. While giving the man a tour of the Vatican, Federico learns the cat is called Juno and the man is Herbert Bother of New Jersey. Herbert has studied art and sells sketches. After sharing with Federico, chocolate filled with peanuts, he suggests that Federico bring him sketches from Raphael and Michelangelo in exchange for more chocolate. He tells Federico to return at midnight, which is when the closet works.

The next day the French ambassador reveals to Federico that the closet was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci, who now works for the King of France. The ambassador tells Federico that DaVinci had the idea to send things through the air, but there was an accident and he refused to use the closet any more. He told the ambassador that he'd lost his "little Juno". Federico sneaks into the pope's private office and steals a sketch of an old man signed by Michelangelo for his friend Herbert. As he's leaving he learns that Raphael's papers have been stolen.

At midnight Herbert returns via the wardrobe and Federico gives him the sketch in exchange for chocolate. Federico realizes that Herbert has stolen the Raphael papers and he tells him he needs to return them. Herbert cannot because they have already been sold in his time, making him well off. Herbert reveals to Federico that the closet on his side of time came from a trunk he found in a junk shop in Mantua. After reading a notebook by DaVinci about a closet machine, he was able to turn the trunk back into the closet. Out of the closet came a little kitten - DaVinci's kitten. Herbert explains to Federico that he comes from a country called America that does not yet exist in his time and that it is 1928 in his time. He now wants Federico to arrange for him to see Raphael and also the Sistine Chapel.

When Herbert returns the next night he tells Federico that twelve years have passed in his time. He has with him an unsigned sketch of a boy he found in the trunk from Mantua and both believe it was done by Raphael. Herbert wants Raphael to sign it so that he can sell it. This means travelling to Raphael's house in the middle of the night. However, his plan collapses when they are seen by the Swiss Guards and Herbert finds a girl dying in the gutter. He flees into the closet with the girl and does not return.

The story now moves into the twenty-first century with eleven-year-old Beatrice (Bee) Bliss and her mom staying at a house in New Jersey while her mother attends a conference. She was supposed to be visiting her grandparents in Italy right now but they won a last minute cruise. Her second mom, Moo helped the couple who own the house and they have offered the use of their house which was once the home of a doctor. Mom tells Bee that a sketch done by Michelangelo was found in the home and it was sold for millions of dollars. 

That evening Bee pulls the neighbour's cat away from catching a bird. When she takes the cat to the house next door, the elderly woman, Miss Bother startles Bee because she seems to recognize her.That night at the neighbours home, Miss Bother's tells them that her father saved her from diphtheria by rushing her to the doctor who owned the house they are staying in. She shows them a drawing hidden behind a painting her father Herbert Bother did of a peacock. The drawing is that of Bee with her scar from the can opener and a mole. She tells them that her father found it in Italy before he found her and that it is probably the work of Raphael.

When Bee's mom leaves for her conference, she is left alone at the house. Soon she realizes that Miss Bother is in trouble next door and makes her way into the house only to discover that the elderly woman has fallen on the stairs.As they are waiting for the ambulance, Miss Bother tells Bee that her father tried to go back to Rome to get Raphael's signature on the drawing but he found her and never returned. 

Puzzled by the elderly lady's story, Bee investigates the house and discovers the closet on the third floor in Herbert Bother's old office. Thinking the closet is like the wardrobe in Narnia, Bee decides to enter it. She doesn't realize she's about to embark on the greatest adventure of her life.

Discussion

DaVinci's Cat is a modern story of time travel, in which a young girl from the present meets a boy from 500 years in the past. Together they must work together to save their families from the changes they cause. This unique story is crafted around the real historical figures of Federico II Gonzaga, Pope Julius II, Michelangelo and Raphael.

Federico was indeed held hostage by Pope Julius II to ensure his father Federico I remained loyal. Federico was born May 17, 1500 to Francesco II Gonzaga and Isabella d'Este. He became Marquis of Mantua in 1519 under the regency of his mother. Although he was slated to marry Maria Palaeolongina, he eventually married her sister, Margaret after Maria died prematurely. Federico was a patron of the arts and had the Palazzo Te built for himself.

Pope Julius II was led the Catholic Church from 1503 until 1513. He was a patron of the arts in the High Renaissance, establishing the Vatican Museums, commissioning Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael to paint the frescos in the Raphael Rooms. Julius II was very much involved in Italian politics during his reign as pope and was a singular force in protecting the integrity of the papacy.

Murdock also offers a portrayal of Michelangelo Buonarotti, showing him as an intense, creative individual who felt his genius was not much appreciated. He is described as a smelly, uncouth given to being very impulsive. His rivalry with the younger Raphael is also featured in DaVinci's Cat.

The novel uses time travel to bring together two children from very different time periods. Federico Gonzaga is the son of an Italian prince. The device is a wardrobe or closet, reminiscent of the wardrobe in Narnia.  Did Leonardo DaVinci ever create the special closet in DaVinci's Cat? Not likely, but this Italian artist famous for his paintings of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, was also an inventor who had many interesting ideas. And it's DaVinci's cat that travels back and forth between the two times, befriending both Federico and Bee.

In the novel Federico is separated from his family, lonely and very self-centered. His desire for a friend leads him to behave badly and make two wrong choices: he steals from Michelangelo and he steals the key to the Sistine Chapel and takes Raphael to see the ceiling, against the expressed wishes of Michelangelo who has forbidden anyone from seeing the paintings. This latter event has the effect of changing time; Michelangelo flees Rome in a fury, never to finish the Sistine Chapel which is painted over by Bramante. Both Michelangelo and Federico die in 1511, ending the Gonzaga family line.  Without the Sistine Chapel to study, Bee's mom and Moo never meet and she is never born. When Federico learns the consequences of his actions, he vows to never disobey again. Instead  he becomes focused on saving his family and makes many sacrifices to accomplish this task. He thinks his way through the problem at hand, appealing to Michelangelo's vanity, telling him he will become famous and live on in his art. In the same way, Bee attempts to save her family by also appealing to Raphael's vanity. Ultimately, Federico comes up with a way to ensure the drawing of Bee ends up back with the Bothers in the trunk Herbert finds in Mantua, five hundred years later.

However, it is the turbulent relationship between Michelangelo and Raphael that Murdock mostly focuses on and that drives the plot forward in the latter half of the novel. Although Michelangelo Buonarotti saw Raphael as a rival, the latter greatly admired Michelangelo's genius. When Michelangelo discovers that Raphael has seen his work, he impulsively abandons work on the Sistine Chapel. It is this action which sets in motion drastic changes to the timeline affecting both Federico and Bee.

Murdock does incorporate some modern themes into her storyline. Beatrice Bliss is part of a very modern family with two moms, whom she calls Mom and Moo. In contrast is Miss Bother who grew up with only an adopted father. The message to children of course, is that families can be of any arrangement. 

The exquisite book cover will be sure to draw in young readers.Those who enjoy time travel, adventure and learning about art will want to read DaVinci's Cat. There are plenty of ideas to explore here: the feasibility of time travel, the life and artwork of DaVinci, Michelangelo and Raphael, Pope Julius II, Federico Gonzaga and life in the High Renaissance. Younger readers will find Murdock has incorporated some interesting facts along the way, such as Italians eating spaghetti with cinnamon sugar (tomatoes would not come to Italy until the mid-1500s and were introduced by the Spaniards from Mexico), and hose with leather soles sewn into them. DaVinci's Cat is a interesting historical adventure novel for juvenile readers.

Book Details:

DaVinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
New York: Greenwillow Books    2021
278 pp.