Ravished

by Dr Anna Vaught

Ravished, subtitled A Series of Reflections on Age, Sex, Death, and Judgement, is the second collection from Anna Vaught. These are peculiar tales, weird fiction, gothic, unusual, full of literary allusion, threaded through with classical and Welsh reference, occasionally starring the author’s relatives and the Virgin Mary. Sometimes funny, morbid, potentially inspiring, Ravished is both revolting and pretty; both awful and yet optimistic in the stress it places on playful language and the abundance of the imagination. The stories explore revenge, angels, an encounter with faith, death and loss and are full of off-kilter experiences, such as a chat with the holy spirit on a bench, a love story in an embalming parlour, passing the time with the man who’s going to bury you and why you should never underestimate the power of the landscape or the weird outcast you passed by.

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2022

About the author

Hello everyone,
A busy year.

My linktree is below so you can come and see me wherever and be aware of a new book or event.

I'm the author of ten, soon to be eleven books, but this is only part of what I do. I'm an English teacher at secondary level, a Creative Writing mentor and occasional lecturer,campaigner and activist. In addition to books, my work is widely anthologised, and I write features, columns, reviews and articles for literary and industry texts and for the national press, with particular interest in literature (and industry) and wellbeing.

Me next book is out on the 10th of February, a really chilling little novella. Then in March, my memoir These Envoys of Beauty is being republished - a new home! - and in October, The Elixir, second in my teaching series, is published.

More soon. Do be aware that there has been some hacking on this account and we are trying to sort it out; there are also some books listed which are not mine, but AI texts someone has given my name to. Just be aware that this is a problem for people.

Very best wishes for all your reading and, if you write, your writing too.
Anna x

Reviews

[Sophy H]

A curious collection of short stories that start out being almost difficult to read as they are quite whimsical and disjointed in their structure, almost like abstract poems. As you get further into the book, the stories seem to loosen up and the style becomes easier to understand, albeit experimental and conceptual. There is a theme of death and darkness running through these stories which I actually liked. And there is frequent reference to the Welsh language which makes the storytelling all the more lyrical.

An enjoyable selection of stories that once given time to settle in, really hit their mark.

[Linda Hill]

A collection of short stories.

Ravished is astonishingly good. Anna Vaught is an amazing author whose prose vibrates with a mesmerising kind of otherness. I was spellbound by this collection and its exploration of those just outside or on the edges of society – the weirdos of the dedication! I think I could reread Ravished innumerable times and discover something new on each occasion. I learnt new vocabulary, made literary connections from Shakespeare to Dylan Thomas and was simply in awe of the quality of Anna Vaught’s writing. She draws in her reader through a conversational tone, through both rhetorical and direct questions, through allusion and through beautiful, poetic, finely wrought prose that is breath-taking.

Each story is so packed with meaning, so filled with themes of love, sexuality and lust, social hierarchy, identity, menace, death, murder and tenderness in balanced, nuanced and frequently wry or witty observation, that reading each one feels like a very special event. Not for nothing is this collection subtitled A Series of Reflections on Age, Sex, Death, and Judgement. Ravished is not a collection to be rushed or taken lightly, but rather is one to savour and enjoy like a perfect morsel of food or sip of the best champagne. I really did think it was a work of genius. This might be a slim collection of fewer than twenty stories but it took me quite a while to read and appreciate, because of the exquisite tapestry of the writing. The writing cries out to be given the reader’s full attention.

Amongst the other themes, death so permeates these pages, from embalming to burial, murder to suicide that Ravished ought to be dismal and depressing. It if far, far from both. The stories are imbued with a respect for humanity, an honesty and a humour that make it feel as if the author is confiding intimately in the reader. I loved the sense of affinity this creates.

Read Ravished and I promise you’ll be astounded. I thought it was amazing; each narrative is a total treat, and I have placed Ravished straight on my list of books of her year. Oh, and you’ll never view a potato in the same way again – but you need to read Ravished to find out why!

[Jules]

3.5 stars.