Short stories: Fen

Something strange is afoot in The Fens in East Anglia.

The marshy territory is alive with a dark magic that transforms sex, love, violence and longing into the stuff of myths and folk tales.

There are houses that fall in love with girls, girls who starve themselves into the shape of eels, back-from-the-dead husbands whose words can cause physical pain to young wives.

Vivid and unsettling, Johnson’s brilliant short stories will haunt and taunt you.

Fen by Daisy Johnson (Jonathan Cape, £12.99) is out now.