Burial Rites

Inspired by a true story, Burial Rites follows the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

**Inspired by a true story, Hannah Kent's Burial Rites was shortlisted for The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, The Guardian First Book Award and The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards. /b>In northern Iceland, 1829, Agnes Magnusdottir is condemned to death for her part in the brutal murder of her lover.Agnes is sent to wait out her final months on the farm of district officer Jon Jonsson, his wife and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderer in their midst, the family avoid contact with Agnes. Only Toti, the young assistant priest appointed Agnes's spiritual guardian, is compelled to try to understand her. As the year progresses and the hardships of rural life force the household to work side by side, Agnes's story begins to emerge and with it the family's terrible realization that all is not as they had assumed.Based on actual events, Burial Rites is an astonishing and moving novel about the truths we claim to know and the ways in which we interpret what we're told. In beautiful, cut-glass prose, Hannah Kent portrays Iceland's formidable landscape, in which every day is a battle for survival, and asks, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?b>Burial Rites is perfect for fans of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood and The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan./b>

'Hannah Kent has a fine turn of phrase . . . that makes Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the central figure in her debut novel, both elusive and captivating . . . Kent is to be commended for being drawn to a story and a character rather than any narrow cultural agenda. Burial Rites is far removed from us in time and place and, ironically, this fact makes it an intimate experience. It draws close to the bones and sinews of human experience as it gives voice to a yearning for more than the law can provide.' Sydney Morning Herald

Préface
Inspired by a true story, Burial Rites follows the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

Auteur
Hannah Kent was born in Adelaide in 1985. She is the co-founder and publishing director of Australian literary journal Kill Your Darlings. In 2011 she won the inaugural Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award. She is the author of Burial Rites, The Good People and Devotion.

Texte du rabat

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARD

'One of the most gripping, intriguing and unique books I've read this year' Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth

Northern Iceland, 1829.
A woman condemned to death for murdering her lover.
A family forced to take her in.
A priest tasked with absolving her.
But all is not as it seems, and time is running out:
winter is coming, and with it the execution date.
Only she can know the truth. This is Agnes's story.

'This compelling, ripped-from-real-life tale reminds me of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace' Karin Slaughter, author of Kisscut
'A story of swirling sagas, poetry, bitterness, claustrophobia . . . holds an exhilaration that borders on the sublime' Sunday Telegraph
'Extraordinary' Daily Express
'Wonderfully strange and haunting' The Times
'A debut of rare sophistication and beauty' Observer

Résumé

**BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick!

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who is charged with the brutal murder of her former master.

Inspired by a true story, Burial Rites is perfect for fans of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood and The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

- The Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist
- The Guardian First Book Award Shortlist
- The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards Shortlist

Iceland, 1829 Agnes Magnúsdóttir is condemned to death for her part in the murder of her lover.

Agnes is sent to wait out her final months on the farm of district officer Jón Jónsson, his wife and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderer in their midst, the family avoid contact with Agnes. Only Tóti, the young assistant priest appointed Agnes's spiritual guardian, is compelled to try to understand her. As the year progresses and the hardships of rural life force the household to work side by side, Agnes's story begins to emerge and with it the family's terrible realization that all is not as they had assumed.

Based on actual events, Burial Rites is an astonishing and moving novel about the truths we claim to know and the ways in which we interpret what we're told. In beautiful, cut-glass prose, Hannah Kent portrays Iceland's formidable landscape, in which every day is a battle for survival, and asks, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

'Outstanding' Madeline Miller

'Sublime' Sunday Telegraph

'One of the most gripping, intriguing and unique books I've read this year' Kate Mosse