Elephi, the Cat with the High I.Q. is a children's book by Jean Stafford published in 1962 by Farrar, Straus & Cudahy. A paperback version was issued in 1962 by Dover Publications.
Contents
Publication background
Elephi, the Cat with the High I.Q. was written for publisher Farrar, Straus & Cudahy and unbeknownst to Random House, who had previously contracted Stafford to produce a major work of fiction: a sequel to her novel Boston Adventure (1944).
Stafford received a modest advance of $1000 for the story and a 5 percent royalty. The book was published in September of 1962.
Elephi, the Cat with the High I.Q. sold fewer than three thousand copies. Stafford declined to write a sequel to the book when she found the advance offer unsatisfactory.
Retrospective appraisal
Reviewers at Cosmic Dream Farm highly recommend the book: "What an absolutely captivating, comical and clever story written by a woman who obviously was intimate with cat psychology. If you love cats, you will love this book."
Jean Stafford biographer David Roberts calls the work "an utter delight."