Back in print at last, the nine beautifully crafted tales in
Beasts of the Southern Wild and Other Stories
display Doris Betts at the top of her form: compassionate, witty, and unforgettable.
"The Ugliest Pilgrim" takes you into the adventures and into the heart of a disfigured young woman who has run away from her life in search of a better one. This award-winning story is the basis for the musical
Violet,
which won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. In "Hitchhiker," a wary secretary hitches a ride in a boat with a man hell-bent on saving fish; instead he saves her from the river — and herself. And in the title story, Betts brilliantly captures the inner life of a teacher and writer struggling to control her classroom, her household, and her life.