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. Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.