Wolf Solent

First published in 1929, John Cowper Powys's novel of Eros and ideas was compared with works by Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, and D.H. Lawrence. Wolf Solent remains wholly unrivaled in its deft and risky balance of mysticism and social comedy, ecstatic contemplation of nature and unblinking observation of human folly and desire. Forsaking London for Ramsgard, Wolf Solent discovers a world of pagan splendor and medieval insularity, riddled by ancient scandals and resentments. And there this poetic young man meets two women-the sensuous beauty Gerda and the ethereal gamine Christie-who will become the sharers of his body and soul. "A novelist of great, cumulative force and lyrical intensity. . . . Out of his rhapsodic style and keen attentiveness to nature, he builds a tower of prose to match the firmament."-Washington Post Book World