The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis is an 18th century tale of five out-of-the-ordinary sisters living in a small village in England. Raised by their grandparents, the sisters play by their own rules in a time and place where existing within a rigid set of rules and norms is expected. Anything out of the norm is viewed as suspicious, perhaps even evil or unnatural. It is these traits that draw the mingled disgusted fascination of the local ferryman Pete Darling. Purvis’s descriptions of Pete’s inner workings scream narcissistic fragile masculinity, as well as his unsettling need to crush and destroy anything out of the ordinary or anything he perceives as weak.

Although the story is about the unique sisters, the author does not provide a pov from any of them. However, I believe this choice is by design to retain the mystery of the rumors’ validity. Instead of the sisters’ perspectives, we rather get the povs of the village men who perceived them in different ways. Pete with disgust as earlier described, Robin who goes against the grain of toxic masculinity yet masks his humanity to “fit in,” Thomas, a town outsider, who has been hired for the season’s haymaking and soon falls for the eldest sister, and the girls ‘ blind grandfather who accepts and supports his granddaughters no matter what.

The one female character pov we get is from the village publican, aptly named Temperance. Temp observes the behavior of the men in the ale house, the inception and spreading of rumors, and offers a compassionate and thoughtful ear and perspective to the men around her.

Purvis plays with our perceptions as seen through unreliable narrators such as Pete, whose bias toward the girls skews his views. If we believe Pete and what the others have claimed to see regarding the girls turning into dogs, what does that say about us? And even if what he is seen is true, does this physical transformation of the girls even matter in the grand scheme? How does Robin’s masking his true, compassionate self deteriorate his integrity as he stands at the precipice of mob mentality? Purvis’s descriptions about fragile, toxic masculinity in the face of unapologetically independent women are spot on, as are her observations regarding the mob mentality of the cult of masculinity.

In the vein of the works of Susan Stokes-Chapman and Laura Shepherd-Robinson, The Hounding is a short, poignant, and beautifully written tale sitting somewhere between Pride and Prejudice and The Crucible.

The Hounding will be released August 5, 2025