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 & The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards 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 & 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 & the hardships of rural life force the household to work side by side Agnes's story begins to emerge & with it the family's terrible realization that all is not as they had assumed Based on actual events Burial Rites is an astonishing & moving novel about the truths we claim to know & 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 & asks how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others? Burial Rites is perfect for fans of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood & The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan