National Bestseller • A New York Times Editor’s Choice Pick • A New York Times Notable Book • Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, TIME and Kirkus Reviews • The Crucible meets The VirginSuicides in this haunting debut about five sisters in a small village in eighteenth-century England whose neighbors are convinced they’re turning into dogs.
ONE OF PEOPLE’S, APPLE BOOKS’, AND AMAZON’S BEST BOOKS OF AUGUST 2025
‘A wildly inventive riff on the Gothic form, with enough suspense and mounting dread to rival Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery.’’
—The New York Times Book Review
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.
Genre: Horror
ONE OF PEOPLE’S, APPLE BOOKS’, AND AMAZON’S BEST BOOKS OF AUGUST 2025
‘A wildly inventive riff on the Gothic form, with enough suspense and mounting dread to rival Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery.’’
—The New York Times Book Review
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.
Genre: Horror
Praise for this book
"Haunting . . . This chilling story can be read as a parable of female empowerment or as a tale of feverish bedevilment overtaking an entire town. Xenobe Purvis has written a book so masterful, you will not be able to look away." - Laurie Lico Albanese
"Purvis writes in spring-water clear and often disarmingly lovely prose . . . prompts thoughts of both The Crucible and The Virgin Suicides . . . a reading experience more akin to a lucid dream . . . Purvis is an exquisitely accomplished wordsmith. I'm greedy to learn what she writes next." - Marni Appleton
"A haunting, dark and visceral story . . . chilling." - Flora Carr
"Haunting and beguiling, this fever dream of a novel draws you in and colours your mind all shades of doubt and suspicion." - Stacey Halls
"Xenobe Purvis has done something masterful here. The Hounding is a novel of rare grace and skill, exquisitely wrought and simmering with feral violence. This book is both lyrical and muscular; to read it is to submit to a current that every now and again pulls you under and leaves you gasping. I can't wait to devour everything she writes." - Rowe Irvin
"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
"Seamlessly crafted, The Hounding is an unflinchingly strange and savage novel ? a rare and twisted pleasure to read. Xenobe Purvis writes about the female experience with an unsettling and startling honesty. This is an unmissable must-read for every girl who has ever been made to feel strange. In a single word, The Hounding is breathtaking." - Lucy Rose
"Purvis writes in spring-water clear and often disarmingly lovely prose . . . prompts thoughts of both The Crucible and The Virgin Suicides . . . a reading experience more akin to a lucid dream . . . Purvis is an exquisitely accomplished wordsmith. I'm greedy to learn what she writes next." - Marni Appleton
"A haunting, dark and visceral story . . . chilling." - Flora Carr
"Haunting and beguiling, this fever dream of a novel draws you in and colours your mind all shades of doubt and suspicion." - Stacey Halls
"Xenobe Purvis has done something masterful here. The Hounding is a novel of rare grace and skill, exquisitely wrought and simmering with feral violence. This book is both lyrical and muscular; to read it is to submit to a current that every now and again pulls you under and leaves you gasping. I can't wait to devour everything she writes." - Rowe Irvin
"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
"Seamlessly crafted, The Hounding is an unflinchingly strange and savage novel ? a rare and twisted pleasure to read. Xenobe Purvis writes about the female experience with an unsettling and startling honesty. This is an unmissable must-read for every girl who has ever been made to feel strange. In a single word, The Hounding is breathtaking." - Lucy Rose
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