The Tenderness of Wolves

The Tenderness of Wolves is a 2006 novel by Stef Penney. It won the 2006 Costa Prize for 'Book of the Year'. General Information The book is set in Canada in the 1860s. It starts with the discovery of the murder of a trapper, and then follows various events that occur as the murderer is sought. As Stef Penney suffered from agoraphobia at the time of writing this novel, she did all the research in the libraries of London and never visited Canada. In an Elle Q&A interview, Penney revealed that the inspiration for the novel originated as a screenplay she had written 12 years prior to the novel, which also featured the novel's main character, Mrs. Ross. The book was serialised on BBC Radio Four at 10:45 BST (repeated at 19:45), from 15 October 2007 daily in 15 minute episodes. Plot summary Structurally, The Tenderness of Wolves is divided into four parts: “Disappearance”, “The Fields of Heaven”, “The Winter Partners”, and “The Sickness of Long Thinking”.