Mary Butts 
Armed with Madness 

A psychosexual quest for spiritual transformation leads to madness and death on the Cornish countryside in this 1928 “masterpiece of modern prose” (London Review of Books). To escape the devastation of World War I, a group of young bohemians decamp to the remote southwestern coast of England. Among the close-knit circle are Scylla Taverner, her brother Felix, and her soon-to-be lover Picus, all of whom are determined to forge a new morality free of the repressive forces that nearly destroyed civilization. When the group discovers an ancient chalice that may be the Holy Grail, they become obsessed with unleashing its spiritual power. But their quest leads them down a terrifying path of exhilarating possibility and violent consequence.