The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones

Following in the tradition of Tristram Shandy and Tom Jones, Jack Wolf unfolds this novel set in the 18th century through the first person narrative of Tristan Hunt. But Tristan is no ordinary literary hero. His childhood in the idyllic countryside around his father's estate is disturbed by the uneasy relationships he has with those around him, his friendship with a charismatic but peculiar young neighbour, and explosive episodes of extreme violence.

As Tristan grows up, he becomes fascinated with the inner workings of living things, taking to anatomy with a passion. Dissecting all manner of creatures in an improvised laboratory, he develops an obsession with understanding the true nature of the relationship between body, mind and soul. Offered the chance to go to London to study anatomy and surgery at St Thomas's Hospital under the great physician William Hunter, Tristan leaves his isolated life in the country behind in favour of the city, but even as he embraces his studies with an evangelical dedication, he simultaneously becomes entangled in more sadistic forms of experimentation in  the brothels of Covent Garden. As events overtake him, Tristan's narrative becomes increasingly wild and unbalanced, leaving the reader uncertain how to interpret his intensely visceral and often disturbing personal history.

Wolf has created a brilliant example of the unreliable narrator in this dark and bewitching historical novel. Packed with gore and grotesquery, Tristan's tale is not for the faint-hearted, but readers with a strong stomach will also find it beautifully-written, elegantly-crafted, poetic and powerful. Steeped in the debates of the Enlightenment, The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones is a compelling blend of science and imagination, myth and madness, philosophy and folklore that will fascinate those who read it.