Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2025
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Duncan Barlow
Abstract
Death on the Hill (36,000 words) follows Saffron, a young woman who lives alone and spends hours developing her woodworking craftsmanship, which she learns from an old man in town. Her grandmother, Grimmie, is a gifted individual with visions of people as they die and the responsibility to deliver the news to families of the deceased. Saffron is kidnapped by one of these families because of Grimmie’s refusal to provide the location of their dead daughter. Grimmie rejects giving up the body’s location for Saffron’s return. Saffron’s time with the family reveals two things: she lives like prey even when she is not around Grimmie, and her grandmother has a complete disregard for her wellness and safety. When Saffron again confronts Grimmie’s neglect, she must finally choose between leaving her life’s attachments or remain like prey: small and vulnerable and loyal. Will she make this decision before Grimmie makes more choices that force Saffron’s path one way or the other? My novel is kindred with books such as Elmet by Fiona Mozley by introducing aspects of the wild into domesticity and the influence of nature on the person. Also, similar to How to Love Your Daughter by Hila Blum and translated by Daniella Zamir, Death on the Hill shows how women are pillars of the home and how generations are rife with memory and moments which coalesce in different versions of the same story for each person.
Subject Categories
Creative Writing
Keywords
Saffron, Grimmie, captivity, neglect, generational trauma, resilience, rural gothic, nature.
Number of Pages
149
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Piper, Katie, "Death on the Hill" (2025). Dissertations and Theses. 372.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/372