The five Mansfield sisters live with their grandfather, Joseph, near a small 18th-century Oxfordshire village. They are deeply mourning their recently deceased grandmother. They don’t interact much socially, but keep to the farm, busying themselves with daily chores. The oldest, Anne, tends to Joseph’s health and watches over her younger sisters. One day a new farm hand, Thomas, is hired to help with the haying and a slow connection grows as he fancies himself falling in love with the taciturn Anne.

When rumours surface that the girls have been seen turning into dogs, it’s up to Thomas to protect them. The more the stories are repeated, the larger and more outrageous they become. Purvis’ speculative fiction has a strong supernatural gothic vibe giving us a dynamic visualisation of the surroundings and characters. The river symbolises the divide between the pub gossips and the villagers who are ferried back and forth across a fast-shrinking river in a summer of deadly heat and drought. As the river declines, the rumours increase, despite attempts by the pub landlady to stop them. For me the novel spoke loudly of willingness to believe the worst of others with little to no evidence, which carries timely thoughts of our modern age. The story closes in a somewhat open-ended way, but I enjoyed the journey and the eeriness of the Oxford landscape is superb. Recommended.

Wonderful. This is a short book, which I easily finished in one day. It’s a folk story style book, not creepy but there are vibes.

Set in a small village. A rumour from an unreliable source about girls turning into dogs, and the fallout from gossip…

I became very immersed in the story, and felt right amongst it, the writing is excellent. I will certainly pick up books by this author again.

My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The books setting in the small 18 th century village was fab, there was always a deep sense of foreboding. There were explorations of various topics such a as community, gender and patriarchy.
There are a whole load of fabulously strong characters.
A brilliant well researched historical fiction.

“Lies could be told with such liberating ease - they tasted better on the tongue than hard facts.”

Pete Darling is the ferryman between two small villages in the south of England. Pete grows resentful after an encounter on the ferry leaves him feeling slighted by the Mansfield sisters, granddaughters of a wealthy local farmer. Emerging from the pub one night he spots something out of the ordinary, and wastes no time in spreading the rumour that the Mansfield sisters have been turning into large, violent dogs. In the god-fearing villages of Little and Greater Nettlebed, this is an accusation that could hold grave consequences for the Mansfields - but is it even true?

At its core, this is a novel about truth; who determines what is and isn’t true, and whether truth even matters when it gets in the way of good gossip. The Mansfield sisters are not well-liked in their community, seen varyingly as snobby, uptight and prideful, and so the villagers see it as no great leap to accept Pete’s claim that they are also unholy, violent beasts - despite his almost total lack of evidence. Temperance Shirly, barmaid at the village pub, tries to act as the voice of reason and stop things from growing out of hand, but this is not a village where women’s voices will be heard and listened to.

I found this very sharp and extremely enjoyable. Each of the pretty sizeable cast of characters has such a distinct voice, and it’s a lot of fun to delve into their psyches. The tone is perfectly balanced - there are frequent reminders of the pure absurdity of the accusation and really funny moments that capture this, but the very real danger that this accusation puts the girls in is also felt at all times. It’s dealing with big ideas about how easily a society seems to accept blatant misogyny, but with propulsive, engaging prose and an eerie gothic vibe. This is a really impressive debut novel and well worth your time.

“Her world was not his world. She lived in a separate, simple place. Angels never alighted there; girls never turned into dogs.”

A lot of novels have been published recently dealing with the subject of witchcraft and witch trials, but The Hounding – Xenobe Purvis’ debut – is something different. Set in 18th century Oxfordshire, after the fervour for witch hunting has largely died down, it explores the dangers of being different in a small community where superstition is rife.

The five Mansfield sisters, who live with their blind grandfather on his farm, have become the subject of gossip in the village of Little Nettlebed. Their grandmother has recently died and the sisters are in mourning, but it seems that people have little sympathy for them. The Mansfields have always been seen as odd by the other villagers and since their grandmother’s death, a rumour has begun to spread that the girls have the power to turn themselves into dogs.

It’s Pete Darling, the drunken, misogynistic ferryman who starts the rumour after one of the girls refuses to speak to him, causing him to feel disrespected. As a summer heatwave descends on the village and the river begins to dry up, Pete’s trade is affected, giving him less to occupy his days and more time to drink. When he sees what he believes are the Mansfield sisters undergoing a strange transformation, it’s not quite clear what has actually happened. Has Pete had some kind of hallucination brought on by heat and alcohol? Is his own dislike of the girls causing him to see what he wants to see and conveniently giving him a way to punish them? Or are the sisters really turning into dogs in front of his eyes? Sadly, the girls are not popular in the village and other people are easily convinced that Pete’s story is true.

From calm, serious Anne, the eldest, down to little Mary, a solemn six-year-old – and in between pretty Elizabeth, shy, timid Grace and tomboyish Hester – the girls share a close bond and keep themselves to themselves, which leads to them being viewed as arrogant and unwelcoming. To Farmer Mansfield, however, they are his beloved granddaughters and he just wants them to be happy and safe. Other characters in the book also have their own views of the girls and these include newcomer Thomas Mildmay, who has been hired to help with the haymaking on the farm; the innkeeper’s wife, Temperance Shirly; and two local boys, Robin and Richard Wildgoose. The perspective we never really get is that of the sisters themselves, but seeing them through the eyes of others helps us to build up a picture of who the sisters really are and what they are like.

I found this a very atmospheric book; Purvis successfully creates a tense, almost claustrophobic feel through her descriptions of the relentless hot, dry weather and the small-mindedness of the villagers. A mixture of superstition, prejudice and fear of things they don’t understand makes the people of Little Nettlebed ready to think the worst of the Mansfield sisters and the girls don’t really do much to dispel these misconceptions because they do behave increasingly oddly when other people are around – almost as if becoming a dog is a safer option than being seen as different. I really enjoyed this fascinating and unusual novel!

Set in eighteenth century England, this story of five sisters who are rumoured to transform into hounds, has plenty of suspense, superstition and mystery. Although the author has succeeded in conveying the claustrophobic tension of a stiflingly hot summer and has presented the reader with a cast of creepy characters, including a perpetually drunk misogynistic ferryman, there isn’t much complexity or tension in the storyline and no clear protagonist to root for.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Spooky goings on in eighteenth century Oxfordshire - an isolated village, a drought and 5 unusual girls. A tale of misunderstanding, irrational fears and the power of gossip. What is so wrong with being different?

I really enjoyed this book!!! For some odd reason it reminded me of little women, even though the 2 books are poles apart but anyways I really liked reading it; the characters were well fleshed out, the writing was beautiful and thankfully the pacing wasn't too slow

I saw another review which said hat if this had been written a hundred years ago, it'd be a classic now. The Hounding tells a slow, winding story of a group of sisters. The villagers say they turn into dogs. Their guardian, their grandfather, says they're free spirited but grieving. But what's true?

It's a creepy tale as much about the inner thoughts of the men of the village as it is about the girls.

Definitely one to read! Thank you for the eARC.

Thought this story showed an intriguing insight into the superstitious nature of the people of the time. An unhappy ferryman with a misogynistic streak initiates rumours relating to five sisters who live on their grandfather’s farm. When chickens and livestock are found dead and strange barking noises are heard suspicions become centred upon the girls. The characters were well drawn and I was hoping for a revealing conclusion. However, it appeared that the writer couldn’t think of one and so the story became utterly pointless. Very disappointing.

A story about how dangerous it could be just to be different. The five Mansfield girls in their claustrophobic Oxfordshire village know of it, gossip being fuelled by superstition, by misogyny or past grievances.
Whilst the oppressiveness of that summer’s events is presented with atmospheric clarity, the plot dragged towards the end and I found myself skim-reading.

I really enjoyed this. It was eery, dark and surprising. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

The Virgin Suicides meets Cursed Bread, The Hounding is a visceral and consuming fever dream of a book. The writing has a heady, timeless quality, proving that misogyny is, of course, everywhere at every time (and that cover is *chef's kiss*).

Dogs, girls and their emergence as one entity, consists the body of this novel, a very mindful cover.

That cover just blew me away for starters. The novel is a fever dream and it's creepy and weird but what a fascinating world! Couldn't keep my eyes off things. It's a very compelling read.

This is a story of scapegoating and liberation - usually the trope of witchcraft is used in stories like this, here it's that the women can turn into dogs.

The writing isn't strong enough to carry what is a familiar and predictable tale, and though the claustrophobia of the village is pertinent, there isn't a strong sense of history here.

⭐️ 5 Stars ⭐️

A haunting and beguiling debut that immerses readers in the eerie atmosphere of 18th-century England. Set in the secluded village of Little Nettlebed, the narrative revolves around the five Mansfield sisters, who become the subject of an unsettling rumour suggesting they can transform into dogs.

The story unfolds through the perspectives of some of the villagers—the local ferryman, a barmaid, and two young labourers—each offering a unique lens into the escalating tension. The absence of the sisters' own voices in the narrative feeds the rumours about their transformations and causes even the reader to question their humanity at points. Their identities are shaped entirely by gossip with only the perspective of their aging blind grandfather there to humanise them.

The title, The Hounding, cleverly encapsulates both the literal and metaphorical pursuits within the story, suggesting not only the alleged transformations but also the relentless scrutiny and persecution faced by those who dare to be different. The novel's exploration of societal aversion to difference and the consequences of mass hysteria feels both timeless and relevant.

I predict that this will be my favouite read of 2025. By the time its released in August, maybe I will be able to decide, is it safer to be a dog, or an unusual girl.

You should read this book if you like:
+ Unreliable Narrators 📖
+ Beautiful Prose 🐶
+ Unusual books about women 👧

I received an advance review copy for free via NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily 📚.

This is a strange book to review. It’s well written and really evokes the heat and claustrophobic atmosphere of summer and small-village life. The five sisters at the heart of the book live with their almost blind grandfather on the outskirts of the village. Gossip and innuendo are rife and the girls are accused of shape-shifting into dogs. There are several inconsistencies throughout the novel and there were many questions which weren’t really answered, however the story pulled me on to the very end to find out how everything would be resolved. Sadly it felt like the author had run out of ideas by the end and I found the ending rushed and strange.

A strange but beautifully written book, The Hounding keeps the attention with it's great characterisation and atmosphere.

As the river dries up and thirsts grow, five girls who live with their grandfather are hounded by villagers one summer in Oxfordshire. Rumours, started by the ferryman whose trade is failing, hint that these unusual girls are capable of shapeshifting and becoming dogs. In the oppressive heat, mirages can occur and people are quick to believe outrageous suggestions. But what is true and what is not is as clouded as Grandfather's sight.

Sometimes it's dangerous to be different.

Disturbing but compelling.

I've read a few novels with this sort of story and genre, and this didn't feel very original or different to what's already out there. Same themes, same sort of story. An OK read but didn't overly catch my attention.