It’s not like I didn’t try. I did try. I really did. You must believe me. In fact, I tried repeatedly. But every time I picked up a copy of “Precious Bane,” Mary Webb’s 1924 novel about the travails ...

She was the "neglected genius" who wrote about her beloved Shropshire as "a county where the dignity and beauty of ancient things lingers long". Exactly 100 years on from the publication of Mary ...

GIDEON SARN, receiving the ceremonial crust and wine of the Sin Eater across his father’s coffin, received therewith the mastery of the Sarn land and of whatever wealth its marshy acres might produce.

An editor recommends Lorrie Moore’s “Birds of America” and Mary Webb’s “Precious Bane” By Gregory Cowles Dear readers, Has a book ever brought you closer to another person, or come between you? That’s ...

The book was published in 1924, just three years before the author’s death. It is one of those rare gems of profound feeling, extreme spirituality, sensitivity that are so rarely found these days. The ...

In the early 19th century, a young woman with a harelip falls foul of her family's ambition and the superstitions of the local community, but meets a man who may see her differently.