Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22725 in Books
• Published on: 1978-11-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

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

About the Author
Mary Webb (1881-1927), poet, mystic and lover of nature, spent most of her life in Shropshire, which features in all of her novels. Admiring contemporaries described Webb as a 'strange genius' and 'one of the best living writers'. After a life of illness and near-poverty, Mary Webb died in Hampstead.

Customer Reviews

review of precious bane by mother of two
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.

One of the greatest insights into English rural life ever.
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.

A brilliantly sensitive book for everyone.
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.