Join us

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Newsletter

Nick Arvin

Mad Boy

Cover: Mad Boy - Nick Arvin

Nick Arvin

Mad Boy

2018, pp. 256, e-Book
ISBN: 9781609454593
Region: United States
Paper edition Paper edition Paper edition
$ 9.99
READ NOW READ NOW READ NOW

The book

Mad Boy is a rollicking, picaresque novel about family and perseverance set during America’s “forgotten war” of 1812.

Young Henry Phipps is on a quest to realize his dying mother’s last wish: to be buried at sea, surrounded by her family. Not an easy task considering Henry’s ne’er-do-well father is in debtor’s prison and his comically earnest older brother is busy fighting the red coats on the battlefields of Maryland. But Henry’s stubborn determination knows no bounds. As he dodges the cannon fire of clashing armies and picks among the ruins of a burning capital he meets looters, British defectors, renegade slaves, a pregnant maiden in distress, and scoundrels of all types. Mad Boy is at once an antic adventure and a thoroughly convincing work of historical fiction that recreates a young nation’s first truly international conflict and a key moment in the history of the emancipation of African-American slaves.

Entertaining, atmospheric, and touching, Mad Boy will transport readers with its cast of vivid characters, its masterful storytelling, and its poignant tale of a young man burdened by an outsized undertaking.

The author

Nick Arvin
Nick Arvin’s first novel, Articles of War (Anchor, 2006), was named one of the best books of the year by Esquire, Detroit Free Press, Rocky Mountain News, and The Independent. It won the Rosenthal Foundation Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Boyd Award, and was selected for the One Book, One Denver reading program. His second novel, The Reconstructionist (Harper Perennial, 2012), was described as “thrilling and soulful” by David Wroblewski and was selected by Amazon as a Best Book of the Month. Arvin’s fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and numerous other periodicals. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop.

Press

From the same country

  • Cover: Ashland - Dan Simon

    Dan Simon

    Ashland

    2026, pp. 208, $ 26.00
    A deeply moving family story unfolding in richly evocative prose and a poetic portrayal of a town in decline during the final decades of the American...
  • Cover: In a Distant Valley - Shannon Bowring

    Shannon Bowring

    In a Distant Valley

    2025, pp. 336, $ 18.00
    Both a love letter and a window into the rural places that have shaped many, In a Distant Valley sets the stage for a final act to play out...
  • Cover: Theory of Bastards - Audrey Schulman

    Audrey Schulman

    Theory of Bastards

    2025, pp. , $ 18.95
    Audrey Schulman has written an absorbing, recognizable story, a book that is humane, generous and surprising. Readers will shiver as they keep turning...
  • Cover: The Distant Marvels - Chantel Acevedo

    Chantel Acevedo

    The Distant Marvels

    2025, pp. 304, $ 18.95
    Maria Sirena tells stories. She does it for money, and for love. But now she will be asked to tell one last story so that eight women can keep...
  • Cover: Where the Forest Meets the River - Shannon Bowring

    Shannon Bowring

    Where the Forest Meets the River

    2024, pp. 336, $ 18.00
    Return to Dalton as Shannon Bowring draws another stunningly human portrait of small town America.
  • Cover: Bite Your Friends - Fernanda Eberstadt

    Fernanda Eberstadt

    Bite Your Friends

    2024, pp. 288, $ 28.00
    Raw, sinuous, high-stakes, Bite Your Friends is a subversive memoir and a mesmerizing history of the body as a site of resistance...

More suggestions

  • Cover: Madelaine Before the Dawn - Sandrine Collette

    Sandrine Collette

    Madelaine Before the Dawn

    2026, pp. 176, $ 18.00
    A Masterful New Novel by Sandrine Collette, One of France’s Most Daring and Acclaimed Writers.
  • Cover: A Mask the Color of the Sky - Bassem Khandaqji

    Bassem Khandaqji

    A Mask the Color of the Sky

    2026, pp. 224, $ 19.00
    A bold, psychologically rich novel of identity, exile, and resistance from one of Palestine’s most vital literary voices—written entirely from...
  • Cover: Ashland - Dan Simon

    Dan Simon

    Ashland

    2026, pp. 208, $ 26.00
    A deeply moving family story unfolding in richly evocative prose and a poetic portrayal of a town in decline during the final decades of the American...
  • Cover: Floodlines - Saleem Haddad

    Saleem Haddad

    Floodlines

    2026, pp. 336, $ 19.00
    A sweeping, multigenerational novel of art, exile, memory, and the enduring legacies of war—set between London and Baghdad in the shadow of the...
  • Cover: Tangerinn - Emanuela Anechoum

    Emanuela Anechoum

    Tangerinn

    2026, pp. 256, $ 19.00
    Winner of the Città di Lugnano Debut Novel Prize and a finalist for the Bancarella and Rapallo BPER Bank Prize
  • Cover: The Burning Origin - Daniele Mencarelli

    Daniele Mencarelli

    The Burning Origin

    2025, pp. 192, $ 18.00
    A searing story about homecoming and belonging set in contemporary Rome 

Join Our Newsletter and receive a FREE eBook!

Stay updated on Europa’s forthcoming releases, author tours and major news.

Are you a bookseller? Click here!

Are you a librarian? Click here!

X