Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. It occurred to me while listening to

today's interview that a pretty common premise for a book is a community, be it a town or a school,

asking, uh, so what's the deal with these women? In Zenobie Purvis's new novel, The Hounding,

the women are a group of sisters in 1700s England

whom the town suspects of,

well, I'll let them get into it.

Just know it's a weird bit of gossip.

And in this interview with NPR Scott Simon,

Purvis talks about how gossip isn't free,

how the gossiper is always asking for

something in return.

After the break.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

I want to get drawn into a book from the very first words.

Here's Enneby Purvis reading the opening of her novel, The Hounding.

The Girls, the infernal heat, a fresh dead body. Marching up the river path, the villagers,

adorned with gaudy ribbons, some carrying stones, saw exactly what had taken place.

The girls had found their quarry at last. The bite mark on

...