Ravished

Description

Praise for Ravished

From West Wales to the Deep South of America, Vaught takes the reader on a remarkable journey where myriad voices speak of their lives and the end of lives. Intimate, chatty and confessional, folk tales lurk in the shadows and dark humour abounds. There is a genius and spirited juggling of language here – an inspired and inspiring collection which deserves to be savoured.
—Lucie McKnight Hardy, author of Water Shall Refuse Them and Dead Relatives

A rich, earthy collection of stories about death and desire, like sunlight on a dewy graveyard. Every voice is one to relish. Bold, eerie and melodic
—Kate Mascarenhas, author of Hokey Pokey

This collection of macabre little gems is a dazzling exploration of the ravishments of death. The sensation of the familiar being ‘just a little off beam’ stalks the stories, from the tale of Berenson who makes the mistake of looking behind him, to undertaker Evans the Bodies chatting happily to all his ‘dead dears’. Fans of Flannery O’Connor will savour Vaught’s relish for language and ‘the Welsh plangency that loved the gob, or tang of death and what it yakked’. An uncanny and, yes, ravishing read.
—Kate Morrison, author of A Book of Secrets

Anna Vaught’s stories are decidedly, delightfully odd. These teasing little vignettes venture towards the witchy and the weird, relish the lusciousness of outré language and take place in funeral parlours, embalming suites and strange houses which are home to mysterious people with second sight and unaccountable urges.
—Daily Mail

About the author

Anna Vaught is an English teacher, mentor and author of several books, including 2020’s Saving Lucia and Famished. Her memoir, These Envoys of Beauty, will be published by Reflex in 2023, followed by a novel, The Zebra and Lord Jones, from Renard Press. Her work is published in journals, anthologies and the national press, and she was a monthly columnist for The Bookseller. She is a guest university lecturer, speaks at literary and arts events and is a tutor for Jericho Writers, also working as a volunteer with young people who need literacy support. Anna is from a large Welsh family and lives in Wiltshire with her American husband and three sons. She works alongside chronic illness and additional caring responsibilities and is passionate about the role of creative work for wellbeing.