Miss Jane
Published on 6. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-0350-6174-7 (ISBN)
Description
'As unexpectedly beguiling as it is affecting' - Daily Mail
Inspired by the true story of his own great-aunt, Brad Watson tells the story of Miss Jane Chisolm, born in rural, early-twentieth-century Mississippi with a genital birth defect that would stand in the way of the central 'uses' for a woman in that time and place - namely, sex and marriage.
From the country doctor who adopts Jane to the hard tactile labour of farm life, from the sensual and erotic world of nature around her to the boy who loved but was forced to leave her, the world of Miss Jane Chisolm is anything but barren. Free to satisfy only herself, she mesmerizes those around her, exerting an unearthly fascination that lives beyond her still.
'Watson's talent is singular, truly awesome; he reminds me of Raymond Carver, Flannery O'Connor, Chris Offutt in his bravery, his unflinching willingness to look at what might set others running' - A. M. Homes
'Superb . . . Watson . . . has a great heart, and this great heart has made him a great writer' - Independent
Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.
Inspired by the true story of his own great-aunt, Brad Watson tells the story of Miss Jane Chisolm, born in rural, early-twentieth-century Mississippi with a genital birth defect that would stand in the way of the central 'uses' for a woman in that time and place - namely, sex and marriage.
From the country doctor who adopts Jane to the hard tactile labour of farm life, from the sensual and erotic world of nature around her to the boy who loved but was forced to leave her, the world of Miss Jane Chisolm is anything but barren. Free to satisfy only herself, she mesmerizes those around her, exerting an unearthly fascination that lives beyond her still.
'Watson's talent is singular, truly awesome; he reminds me of Raymond Carver, Flannery O'Connor, Chris Offutt in his bravery, his unflinching willingness to look at what might set others running' - A. M. Homes
'Superb . . . Watson . . . has a great heart, and this great heart has made him a great writer' - Independent
Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.
Reviews / Votes
Miss Jane is courageous, resilient and enquiring; her parents are troubled souls, but loving. That said, Watson doesn't succumb to sentimentality . . . With the woods and fields of Jane's rural home seeming to cast a subtle enchantment on her life, hers is a history that is as unexpectedly beguiling as it is affecting. * Daily Mail * A bittersweet southern pastoral, the story of a forgotten woman written with unearthly beauty. If Raymond Carver and Flannery O'Connor had a child, it would be Brad Watson. -- A. M. Homes, 'Best books of the year' * Guardian * [Watson's] sensuous prose eases its way through vivid, deliberate scenes, rich with profound meaning . . . This proud, gentle novel shimmers with a subtle defiance, a near-physical need to celebrate a woman who lived against the odds. -- Eileen Battersby * Irish Times * A writer of profound emotional depths * New York Times * Miss Jane covers a quiet, often solitary lifetime enriched by the unfettered outdoors, the tough routine of farm life, and the ache of unconsummated love. Watson's characters are mentally dexterous in spite of their physical hardship. The book plays on the tongue like an oyster - first salty, then cold - before slipping away to be consumed and digested. * Washington Post * In all its verisimilitude, Miss Jane is painful and hopeful in almost equal measure, a story worth telling even as it breaks your heart. * Chicago Review of Books * [An] ambitious, touching novel -- Editor's Choice * New York Times * Exquisitely written . . . life in all of its unsentimental and symphonic complexity . . . Miss Jane is an artistic triumph, a novel that will linger inside you as long as your own memories do. Brad Watson's gifts are immense. -- Andre Dubus III Miss Jane is both winning and big-hearted in its embrace of and appreciation for what seems to be a disabling difference. One of its great pleasures is its young protagonist's flowering from loneliness to a new understanding of her place within creation. -- Jim Shepard A beautiful portrait of a young girl trying to navigate a difficult life - and an honest story that will bring you to tears more than once. * Associated Press * Miss Jane takes Watson's writing to new heights . . . A novel that thrums with beauty, melancholy, and desire. * Salon * Brad Watson's eloquently homespun second novel, Miss Jane . . . His 'country folk' are complex and vulnerable, their stoicism and outer coldness a response to events beyond their control... [Jane's] fearless acceptance of what sets her apart is profoundly human, and her lifelong struggle to understand her place in the world reflects the intricate workings of our own mysterious hearts. * Atlanta Journal-Constitution * Watson's accomplishment here is a marvel . . . Miss Jane demonstrates that through the act of imagination we can enter into another person's soul. Such imagination, though, requires ignoring boundaries and limits - including the conventions of gendered genres and gender norms - so that we can fully offer ourselves to the world of love. * Jackson Clarion Ledger * [A] tender and affecting novel * National Book Review * Brad Watson's Miss Jane; a bittersweet southern pastoral, the story of a forgotten woman written with unearthly beauty. If Raymond Carver and Flannery O'Connor had a child, it would be Brad Watson -- AM Homes * Guardian * Using language that is both candid and askew, Watson describes the quiet, often solitary life of a girl born in 1915 in rural Mississippi with a genital defect * Washington Post * I really admired Brad Watson's limpid novel Miss Jane about a woman born with an irreparable and humiliating physical anomaly who manages to fashion a rich and enigmatic life despite all odds. -- Tim Winton * Financial Review (Australia) *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 133 mm
Width: 198 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
204 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0350-6174-7 (9781035061747)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2016
Picador
€15.99
Available for download
Person
Brad Watson was the author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Heaven of Mercury and Miss Jane, and three collections of stories, Last Days of the Dog-Men, Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives, and There Is Happiness. His work has been recognized by the short list and long list of the National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Great Lakes New Writers Award, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Fiction (twice), the Southern Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, a National Endowment of the Arts Grant in Fiction, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Harper Lee Award, and the Award in Letters granted by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He taught creative writing at Harvard University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Wyoming, Laramie.