Xenobe Purvis

Xenobe Purvis
Born	Xenobe Eva Wendela Purvis 1990 (age 35–36) Tokyo, Japan
Alma mater	University of Oxford Royal Holloway, University of London

Xenobe Eva Wendela Purvis (born 1990) is a novelist and literary researcher. ^[1] She is known for her debut novel The Hounding (2025).

Early life

Purvis was born in Tokyo ^[2] to British parents. She and her older sister Kerensa founded the Anglo-Japanese cross-cultural art and design platform Nomikomu. ^[3]

Purvis studied English at Oxford University. ^[4] She graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) from Royal Holloway, University of London. ^[5]

Career

After completing her MA, Purvis continued her literary research. She worked as an assistant researcher for Katherine Bucknell's biography of Christopher Isherwood before joining the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. ^[2]

In November 2023, Hutchinson Heinemann acquired the rights to publish Purvis' debut novel The Hounding in August 2025. ^[6] The novel is based on physician John Freind's 1700 Oxfordshire account of five sisters "seized with frequent barking in the manner of dogs". ^{[7] [8]} The Hounding was a New York Times Book Club pick, ^[9] an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce pick, ^[10] and named a must-read book of 2025 by Time Magazine . ^[11]

Works

Novels

• Purvis, Xenobe (5 August 2025). The Hounding. London: Hutchinson Heinemann. ISBN   978-1-250-36638-2. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

Select essays

• "Groaning Glaciers" in The London Magazine (2019)
• "A weakness for toads: How Christopher Isherwood foretold his own betrayal" in The Times Literary Supplement (2022)

References

1. "Xenobe Purvis | Authors". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
2. Cordasco-Pak, Corinne (29 July 2025). "Xenobe Purvis: On the Specificity of Strangeness, the Wonders of Archival Research, the Violence of Patriarchy, and Her Debut Novel 'The Hounding'". Write or Die Magazine. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
3. "About". Nomikomu. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
4. "Spotlight on alumni: Xenobe Purvis". English, University of Oxford. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
5. "Meet Xenobe Purvis, who studied Creative Writing MA". Royal Holloway, University of London. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
6. Wood, Heloise (November 2023). "Purvis' 'blinding' historical feminist debut won by Hutchinson Heinemann in four-way auction". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
7. Cogan, Marin (6 August 2025). "In this novel, five sisters are turning into dogs. Or are they?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2025.(subscription required)
8. Simon, Scott (9 August 2025). "Xenobe Purvis discusses her debut novel 'The Hounding,' about female persecution". NPR. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
9. Franklin, MJ (26 December 2012). "Book Club: Read 'The Hounding,' by Xenobe Purvis, With the Book Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
10. Spence, Marisa (6 August 2025). "Indies Introduce Q&A With Xenobe Purvis". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
11. "'The Hounding' Is One Of The Must-Read Books of 2025". Time Magazine. 12 November 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
12. "A Rich, Atmospheric Novel Thrumming With Menace". 5 August 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
13. Zax, Talya (10 August 2025). "Literature's Enduring Obsession With Strange Sisters". The Atlantic. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
14. Yatchisin, George. "The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis". California Review of Books. Retrieved 29 October 2025.

External links

• https://greeneheaton.co.uk/clients/xenobe-purvis