Burial Rites

Hannah Kent

ISBN 10: 0316239801 / ISBN 13: 9780316239806

Published by Little, Brown Book Group, GB, 2013

About this Item

Based on a true story, Burial Rites is a superb debut novel which explores the case of the last woman to be publicly beheaded in Iceland in 1829. Agnes Magnúsdóttir has been charged with the brutal murder of Natan Ketilsson, her former employer, and has been sent to an isolated residence where she is to be detained throughout her trial. Horrified at having a cold murderer in their midst the family, especially Margret the farmer's wife, who live at the property treat her with disdain and caution. A young assistant priest, Toti, has been appointed her spiritual guardian and must regularly visit her in an attempt to salvage her soul. Through Toti's visits, the family learns more about Agnes and the crime she's apparently committed and as the days to the beheading draw closer, they realise all is not what it first seemed.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780316239806

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Burial Rites
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group, GB
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316239801
• ISBN 13: 9780316239806
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 750 grams

About this title

Synopsis

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

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

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tv=ti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, Burial Rites evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

About the Author

Hannah Kent was born in Adelaide in 1985. Her first novel, Burial Rites, has been translated into nearly thirty languages and was shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize), the Guardian First Book Award and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Hannah is also the co-founder and publishing director of Australian literary journal Kill Your Darlings. The Good People is her second novel.