Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and a BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick!
'Outstanding' – Madeline Miller, author of Circe
'Gripping, intriguing and unique' – Kate Mosse, author of The Burning Chambers
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 . . .
Based on actual events, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is a dark, thrilling work of historical fiction, and a beautiful and gripping read.
'One of the best Scandinavian crime novels I've read' – Independent
'Remarkable' – Sunday Times
'A must-read' – Grazia
Shorlisted for the Guardian First Book Award
Shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards
One of the many extraordinary books featured in the Picador Collection.
"‘A remarkable achievement . . . Burial Rites will stand comparison with Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace and Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang.’" - Sunday Times
"In 19th-century Ireland, convicted killer Agnes Magnúsdóttir is sentenced to death for stabbing her lover, but still has the power to change lives. Kent brilliantly recreates a community surviving in an inhospitable climate, and conveys the ineluctable force of one woman's personality on those around her." - Financial Times