A trancelike feminist fable of magic, alchemy, and the battle of the sexes by Britain's foremost surrealist painter __________ 'Lurks somewhere between the territory of Beardsley and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast ... shudderingly enjoyable' Guardian 'The whole novel possesses a haunting, visionary quality most uncommon in present-day prose.' Telegraph 'Colquhoun is a painterly stylist, her surrealist visions shrouded in Celtic mists.' TLS __________ Calcination. Putrefaction. Exaltation. Trapped on an enchanted island ruled by her uncle, a young woman must pass through the stages of alchemical transformation to escape. He wants to conquer death by magic - and she may pay the price for his ambition. Lushly visual, rife with symbols and cries from the unconscious, Colquhoun's first novel is a surreal feminist fable, and a supreme artistic vision. Includes 'Hexentanz', a lost chapter from the original manuscript.