Goose of Hermogenes

A trance-like feminist fairy tale of magic, alchemy, and the battle of the sexes?for fans of Angela Carter, Leonora Carrington, and O CaledoniaBritain’s foremost surrealist painter puts a lushly visual spin on the Philosopher’s Stone in her first-ever novel!In this modern fairy tale inspired by alchemy, a nameless narrator is determined to protect the precious jewels in her possession from her uncle, the Prospero-like ruler of an island stronghold. Locked in a battle of wills, her uncle is equally determined to steal the jewels and use their power in his attempts to conquer death by magic.Trapped in his house, she must use guile, strength, and the knowledge unlocked by a series of dreamlike encounters to escape without becoming herself a victim of his dark rituals. By the end of the novel, she has passed through numerous stages of transformation, discovered sexual ecstasy, spoken with the dead, and returned to where she began