Burial Rites

This article is about the novel. For other uses, see Funeral.

Burial Rites (2013) is a novel by Australian author Hannah Kent, based on a true story about the last woman to be executed in Iceland.

Premise

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 in 1830.[1]

Background

Kent was inspired 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.[2] She then made it the topic of her honours thesis and PhD at Flinders University, with additional mentoring by Geraldine Brooks. After this, Kent was awarded the Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2011.[3][4]

Publication

Burial Rites was published in 2013 by Pan Macmillan in Australia, by Little, Brown in the US, and by Picador in the UK.[citation needed]

Reviews

Burial Rites was well-received by critics and other writers. English novelist Sarah Moss, writing in The Guardian, called the novel "beautiful and compelling", and that Kent was a writer to watch.[5] Ben Etherington wrote in the Sydney Review of Books that the novel was a "big book", and mentioned good reviews by The New York Times and by Michael McGirr in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, among others. He wrote that the novel had had good reviews in the UK by The Observer, The Telegraph, Daily Express, and The Sunday Times.[6]

On The Omnivore, based on British press, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.5 out of 5.[7]

Stephen Romei, literary editor of The Australian, who spoke to Kent about what led her to write the novel, drew a parallel between Burial Rites and Hilary Mantel trilogy of novels about Tudor England. He also wrote "Kent's affinity for the landscape resounds on every page of Burial Rites".[8]

Film adaptation

In 2017, it was announced that Luca Guadagnino would direct a film adaptation starring Jennifer Lawrence.[9][10] As of May 2025 the film is still in development.[11]

School curricula use

Burial Rites was included in the Victorian Certificate of Education text response texts from 2014,[citation needed] and in the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority prescribed text list in 2020.[12]

Literary awards

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2011 Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award — Won
2013 Guardian First Book Award — Shortlisted
Nib Literary Award — Shortlisted
The Alex Buzo Shortlist Prize Won
2014 ALS Gold Medal — Shortlisted
Australian Book Industry Awards Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year Won
Booktopia People's Choice Award Won
National Book Awards (UK) International Author of the Year Shortlisted
Davitt Award Adult Crime Novel Shortlisted [13]
Debut Crime Novel Won [13]
Readers' Choice Award Won [13]
Indie Book Awards (AUS) Debut Fiction Won [14]
Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award — Won [15]
Stella Prize — Shortlisted
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Fiction Shortlisted
People's Choice Award Won
Voss Literary Prize — Shortlisted
Women's Prize for Fiction — Shortlisted
2015 International Dublin Literary Award — Shortlisted


References

  1. ^ Kent, Hannah 'Keep Calm and Carry On: An Unexpected Path to Publication', Kill Your Darlings, Issue 13 (April 2013)
  2. ^ Lanagan, Margo (2 May 2013). "Hannah Kent chats to Margo Lanagan". www.readings.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  3. ^ Morris, Linda (3 May 2013). "Interview: Hannah Kent". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Grim murder history wins Hannah major writing prize". Flinders University. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  5. ^ Moss, Sarah (31 August 2013). "Burial Rites by Hannah Kent – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 August 2013.
  6. ^ Etherington, Ben (8 November 2013). "The Real Deal: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent". Sydney Review of Books. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Burial Rites by Hannah Kent". The Omnivore. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  8. ^ Kent, Hannah (20 April 2013). "Hannah Kent's debut novel Burial Rites is written in cold blood". The Australian. Interviewed by Romei, Stephen. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
  9. ^ Brent Lang (12 December 2017). "Jennifer Lawrence to Star in Luca Guadagnino's 'Burial Rites'". Variety.
  10. ^ Pitman, Robert (9 May 2024). "New $53 Million Hit Makes An Upcoming Jennifer Lawrence Movie Even More Promising". ScreenRant. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Burial Rites". IMDb. 9 May 2025. Archived from the original on 9 May 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Prescribed Text List" (PDF). Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. October 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  13. ^ a b c ""Whodunnit? The women killing it in crime writing"". The NewDaily. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  14. ^ ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2014"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  15. ^ "The Nielsen BookData Booksellers' Choice Award - Australian Booksellers Association". www.booksellers.org.au. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.