Cover image for Burial rites
Burial rites
Title:
Burial rites
Author:
Kent, Hannah, 1985-
ISBN:
9781447233176
Publication Information:
London : Picador, 2014.
Physical Description:
354 p. ; 20 cm
Abstract:
Inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed in Iceland: a young woman accused of murder in 1829. Charged with the brutal murder of two men, Agnes Magnúsdóttir, has been removed to her homeland's farthest reaches, to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family on the farm avoids Agnes. Her arrival threatens the peaceful rhythm of their way of life, while her stoic approach to the daily chores is an unsettling contrast to the passion that, rumor has it, drove her to kill -- disturbing proof for them of the dangers that can lurk beneath a placid surface. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. As the winter months pass and Agnes's death looms closer, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational tale they've heard, but will their new knowledge be enough to save her?
Subject:
Women murderers -- Fiction.
Women death row inmates -- Fiction.
Farm life -- 19th century -- Fiction.
Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Fiction.
Iceland -- Fiction.
Biographical fiction
Historical fiction
Summary:
Inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed in Iceland: a young woman accused of murder in 1829. Charged with the brutal murder of two men, Agnes Magnúsdóttir, has been removed to her homeland's farthest reaches, to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family on the farm avoids Agnes. Her arrival threatens the peaceful rhythm of their way of life, while her stoic approach to the daily chores is an unsettling contrast to the passion that, rumor has it, drove her to kill -- disturbing proof for them of the dangers that can lurk beneath a placid surface. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. As the winter months pass and Agnes's death looms closer, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational tale they've heard, but will their new knowledge be enough to save her?