田納西·威廉斯（Tennessee Williams，1911-1983）是美國20世紀最偉大的三大戲劇傢之一（另外兩位是尤金·奧尼爾和阿瑟·米勒），同時也是全世界範圍內最重要的劇作傢之一。1948年和1955年分彆以其《欲望號街車》及《熱鐵皮屋頂上的貓》兩度贏得普利策奬和戲劇評論奬；《玻璃動物園》和《鬣蜥之夜》也分彆於1945年和1961年拿下紐約戲劇評論奬；1952年的玫瑰黥紋》獲得托尼奬最佳戲劇奬殊榮。

The definitive text of this American classic—reissued with an introduction by Edward Albee ( Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A Delicate Balance ) and Williams' essay "Person-to-Person." Cat on a Hot Tin Roof first heated up Broadway in 1955 with its gothic American story of brothers vying for their dying father's inheritance amid a whirlwind of sexuality, untethered in the person of Maggie the Cat. The play also daringly showcased the burden of sexuality repressed in the agony of her husband, Brick Pollitt. In spite of the public controversy Cat stirred up, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Critics Circle Award for that year. Williams, as he so often did with his plays, rewrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for many years—the present version was originally produced at the American Shakespeare Festival in 1974 with all the changes that made Williams finally declare the text to be definitive, and was most recently produced on Broadway in the 2003-04 season. This definitive edition also includes Williams' essay "Person-to-Person," Williams' notes on the various endings, and a short chronology of the author's life. One of America's greatest living playwrights, as well as a friend and colleague of Williams, Edward Albee has written a concise introduction to the play from a playwright's perspective, examining the candor, sensuality, power, and impact of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof then and now.