Born at the time of Waterloo in the wild country of Shropshire, Prudence Sarn is a wild, passionate girl, cursed with a hare lip -- her 'precious bane'. Cursed for it, too, by the superstitious people amongst whom she lives. Prue loves two things: the remote countryside of her birth and, hopelessly, Kester Woodseaves, the weaver. The tale of how Woodseaves gradually discerns Prue's true beauty is set against the tragic drama of Prue's brother, Gideon, a driven man who is out of harmony with the natural world.
Precious Bane
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Review
Mary Webb need fear no comparison with any writer who has attempted to capture the soul of nature in words (JOHN BUCHAN )
[Webb] was a great mystic and a master of both "inscape" and landscape. Any dull afternoon in London is lifted by being transported to the Mary Webb country of the Shropshire hills and the Welsh borderland. (MAIL ON SUNDAY )
[Webb] was a great mystic and a master of both "inscape" and landscape. Any dull afternoon in London is lifted by being transported to the Mary Webb country of the Shropshire hills and the Welsh borderland. (MAIL ON SUNDAY )
Book Description
*A love story in the tradition of the Brontes and Hardy
*Won the Prix Femina Vie Heureuse in 1925
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First Sentence
IT was at a love-spinning that I saw Kester first. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT was at a love-spinning that I saw Kester first. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Precious Bane is a classic of historical literature written by the comparatively unknown author Mary Webb. Published in 1924 but set in her native Shropshire 100 years earlier, the story of Precious Bane has the scope, power, insight and plot of anything by Thomas Hardy, George Elliot, or the Brontes. Written in a rather quaint ( and easy to read ) dialect it tells the story of a young farm girl who was born with a hare lip. The strongly conceived plot is supported by some of the finest descriptions of period rural life ever. The running of a mixed farm, the market, the hiring fair, bull-baiting, the customs, the characters, the hierarchy and the countryside birds, flowers and dragonflies are weaved together into a heart-rending love story. No wonder the then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin ( 1928 ) was moved to write an introduction to the book.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Precious Bane has been my constant companion since the age of 13. Over the past 27 years I have read it many, many times, sometimes just opening the book to any page, haphazard fashion, and getting completely emersed in the beauty of the language that captures the true essence of English country life in the early twentieth century. The story is told from the perspective of a young woman who is very sensitive to the changes of mood of both Nature and Man. There are words of wisdom in every page and lessons of life to be learnt from every situation and character in the book. A remarkable book that cannot be be praised enough.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Precious Bane is a passionate book where nature is immensly powerful and human spirit is inspiring.I have re-read it many times and consider Pru to be a thrilling if unconventional heroine. She is good in every sense and the reader feels every one of her emotions. The life she leads is extraordinary, dictated by nature and superstition. Her isolation would make most of us weep,but Pru's truly strong character survives and thrives. The triumph of her love for the weaver makes my heart sing.This book is a joy and the perfect antidote to the american best seller.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is compelling draws you in.
I read it twice in quick succession a thing I rarely do. The character of Prue Sarn has no malice and is very non judgmental. Read more
Published 3 days ago by mrs s riley
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book to persevere with
I had never heard of this book until Lucy suggested it as a read for the inaugural meeting of the Bicester Booklings, and so I had little idea of what to expect from it. Read more
Published 28 days ago by shepline
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favourite book!
I love this book...my favourite of all time and I never tire of reading it. In my opinion, the best of Mary Webb's books.
Published 2 months ago by M. J. Griffiths
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book
I love the language, the descriptions of nature and the landscape and Prue's philosophical considerations and assessments of people and events.
Published 3 months ago by VIVIAN HOVMAND
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Favourite Fiction Book
I have read this book before and found it very moving.I could relate to her predicament as a family member had the same problem, but luckily he lived in more enlightened times. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs C Wadsworth
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my all time favourite novels
This is a wonderful book full of unforgettable characters. Definitely a book I would take to a desert island. Read more
Published 7 months ago by pufferfish
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the all-time greats
This is a very special book, a book which creates its own world and takes you along with it, until you are a part of it yourself. Read more
Published 12 months ago by A. C. Dickens
5.0 out of 5 stars
A forgotton time brought to life - a vivid classic tale
Mary Webb wrote during the early years of the twentieth century about lives in the previous century. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2011 by Susan Pope
5.0 out of 5 stars
Too well hidden gem in English literature
Mary Webb is under appreciated now much as she was in her own lifetime and her output of the so-called Nature novel is overlooked in favor of other authors such as Hardy. Read more
Published on 14 May 2010 by Laura E. Bean
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this book
This delightful book is one of my all-time favourites: touching, engaging and with a wonderful ending. I have read it more than once and often buy it as a gift.
Published on 21 Nov 2009 by Lulu
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