The Crazy Hunter

A rediscovered Modernist gem: a lushly written short novel of roiling family tension on an English farm, back in print for the first time in decades __________ 'The Crazy Hunter is the story closest to perfection that I have ever read' Katherine Anne Porter 'Few writers have been more skilled at conveying an underlying emotional violence imperfectly concealed by the conventional politenesses' Margaret Atwood __________ At 17, Nan wants to leave the family farm and go to study. Caught between her powerful mother and yielding, drunken father, she absorbs the tensions of their divided household and dotes on her new gelding, a gift from her father. When a sudden accident leaves the horse blind, Nan's mother insists he must be put down, initiating a power struggle that brings the family's conflicts explosively to the fore. First published in 1938, The Crazy Hunter is an electrifying short novel-sharply observed, psychologically astute and morally complex. Written in lush, entrancing prose, it is the finest work by a significant modernist writer.

Kay Boyle (1902-1992) was an American writer, educator and political activist. Following her youth and education in Philadelphia, Cincinnati and New York, Boyle moved to France in 1923, where she would remain until 1941. She became an important figure in the literary scene there, publishing in small magazines alongside Hemingway, Joyce and Stein. She was twice awarded Guggenheim fellowships and won two O. Henry Awards for best short story of the year. On returning to the US, Boyle continued writing and worked as a foreign correspondent for the New Yorker. A victim of 1950s McCarthyism, Boyle was blacklisted from most major magazines, and in 1963 she took a teaching job in San Francisco. She became increasingly involved in political activism and was once imprisoned alongside Joan Baez for a protest at the height of the Vietnam War. A fierce advocate for justice and equality until the end of her life, Boyle died in California aged 90.