''Burial Rites'' (2013) is a novel by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n author Hannah Kent, based on a true story.

Background

Kent was given inspiration to write Burial Rites during her time as an exchange student in Iceland when she was 17, where she learnt the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir. She then made it the topic of her honours degree at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator M ...

, and the subject of her PhD, with additional mentoring being given by Geraldine Brooks, after this, Kent was awarded the Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2011.

Plot summary

''Burial Rites'' tells the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, a servant in northern Iceland who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer, and became the last woman put to death in Iceland.

Notes

* ''Burial Rites'' was included in the VCE text response texts from 2014. * Dedication: For my Family * Included in the QCAA prescribed text list in 2020.

Reviews

* ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' * '' Sydney Review of Books''

Interviews

* ''The Australian'' - "Hannah Kent's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Burial Rites is written in cold blood" by Stephen Romei

Awards and nominations

* 2011 inaugural winner Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award * 2013 shortlisted 'The Nib': CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature * 2013 shortlisted Guardian First Book Award * 2013 winner 'The Nib': CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature — The Alex Buzo Shortlist Prize * 2014 shortlisted

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary p ...

— Fiction * 2014 winner

— People's Choice Award * 2014 winner Indie Awards — Debut Fiction * 2014 shortlisted

Stella Prize The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Baileys W ...

* 2014 shortlisted ASAL Awards —

ALS Gold Medal The Australian Literature Society Gold Medal (ALS Gold Medal) is awarded annually by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature for "an outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year." From 1928 to 1974 it was awarded by the ...

* 2014 shortlisted Women's Prize for Fiction (UK) — Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction * 2014 winner Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year * 2014 winner Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award —

Australian Booksellers Association The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) promotes the interests of booksellers in Australia. The association has its origins in state associations formed early in the 20th century, which later amalgamated into a federal association. In 1985 t ...

* 2014 winner Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Booktopia People's Choice Award * 2014 shortlisted

Davitt Award The Davitt Awards are literary awards which are presented annually by the Sisters in Crime Australia association. The awards are named in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812–1879) who wrote Australia's first mystery novel, ''Force and Fraud'' in 186 ...

— Best Adult Crime Novel * 2014 winner

— Best Debut Crime Novel * 2014 winner

— Readers' Choice Award * 2014 shortlisted National Book Awards (UK) — International Author of the Year * 2014 shortlisted Voss Literary Prize * 2015 shortlisted

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

Film

In 2017, it was announced that Luca Guadagnino will direct a film adaptation starring

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people ...

References

External links

Burial Rites, Official Publisher Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burial Rites 2013 Australian novels Novels set in Iceland 2013 debut novels Fiction set in 1829 Pan Books books Picador (imprint) books