A Scruffian Survival Guide

Urchins scrobbled down the centuries from yer poor and persecuted. Foundlings Fixed in imperishable waifhood by the Stamp & sold to rich groanhuffs as child labour. Hellions with spirits as resilient as their flesh, less like to cower from a kick than nick yer boot, hamstring yer and f****n leg it. That's what it is to be a Scruffian, mate, and there ain't a rhyme sung or tale told in a Scruffian squat that ain't, at the end of the day, out to learn yer how to survive. So cosy in, scamps, quit yer fidgeting, and hark to the fabbler of this here crib...

Like fugitives from the musical Oliver! by way of Clive Barker, like some queer punk bastard brat born of Neil Gaiman and William Burroughs, the Scruffians should appeal to readers of dark fantasy with a wicked sense of blackest humour. Wielding whimsy in the service of satire, with a wink to Peter Pan, a nod to The Borribles, and a salute to Sweeney Todd, this is punk fiction for yer inner feral child.

*

"The post- post- modern Victorian fables that comprise Hal Duncan's A Scruffian Survival Guide inhabit a unique dark fantasy world – a feral dream. The language is mad genius." — Jeffrey Ford on A Scruffian Survival Guide

"Hal Duncan's cheeky and charming Scruffian stories hide a steely shiv of inspection that digs uncompromisingly into the ribs of the establishment. This latest volume, populated as always with wonderful characters old and new, deepens that exploration and brings it bang up to date. I loved every word of it." — Neil Williamson on A Scruffian Survival Guide

"[A] wickedly entertaining collection of short fiction fantastical and queer in nature... sharp-tongued and a bit dark—I'd even say a little roguish, sometimes—these stories are delightful and provocative, and I'd certainly recommend picking them up for a read." — Tor.com on Scruffians!