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A Novel
by Xenobe Purvis
The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides in this haunting debut about five sisters in a small village in eighteenth century England whose neighbors are convinced they're turning into dogs.
Even before the rumors about the Mansfield girls begin, Little Nettlebed is a village steeped in the uncanny, from strange creatures that wash up on the riverbank to portentous ravens gathering on the roofs of people about to die. But when the villagers start to hear barking, and one claims to see the Mansfield sisters transform before his very eyes, the allegations spark fascination and fear like nothing has before.
The truth is that though the inhabitants of Little Nettlebed have never much liked the Mansfield girls―a little odd, think some; a little high on themselves, perhaps―they've always had plenty to say about them. As the rotating perspectives of five villagers quickly make clear, now is no exception. Even if local belief in witchcraft is waning, an aversion to difference is as widespread as ever, and these conflicting narratives all point to the same ultimate conclusion: something isn't right in Little Nettlebed, and the sisters will be the ones to pay for it.
A richly atmospheric parable of the pleasures and perils of female defiance, The Hounding considers whether in any age it might be safer to be a dog than an unusual young girl.
"The story alludes to modern-day paranoia and scapegoating without offering significant surprises or memorable insights, but it sustains an eerie vibe, and Purvis depicts the disturbing sisters and bucolic setting in sensual prose. Neo-gothic diehards will find enough to enjoy." —Publishers Weekly
"Purvis is a skillful writer, creating a story that is part historical fiction, part feminist cautionary tale, and wholly engaging. Recommended for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh and Rachel Yoder." —Library Journal
"You had me at 'The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides.' Add, perhaps, 'meets Nightbitch,' considering the main complaint that the residents of Little Nettlebed have about the Mansfield sisters is that they are maybe, probably, definitely turning into dogs. I'm game." ―LitHub
"The Hounding is a debut novel bound to be a cult classic. It's a tale set centuries ago that throbs with a bloody, living heart. It's a jewel dug from the depths of Xenobe Purvis's imagination. It's exquisite." ―Julia Phillips, author of Bear
This information about The Hounding was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Xenobe Purvis was born in Tokyo in 1990. She studied English Literature at the University of Oxford, has an MA in creative writing from Royal Holloway, and was part of the London Library's Emerging Writers Programme. She is a writer and literary researcher, with essays published in the Times Literary Supplement, the London Magazine, and elsewhere.
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