Prize for the Fire
“The author writes powerfully of this world of diminished and marginalized women…Prize for the Fire has the tone and feel of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, and it stands tall among the best of Tudor historical fiction.”
Historical Novel Society
In 1537, amidst England’s religious turmoil, fifteen-year-old Anne Askew is forced to take her dead sister’s place in an arranged marriage.
The witty, well-educated daughter of a Lincolnshire knight, Anne is determined to free herself from her abusive husband, harsh in-laws, and the cruel strictures of her married life. But this is the England of Henry VIII, where religion and politics are dangerously entangled. A young woman of Anne’s fierce independence, Reformist faith, uncanny command of plainspoken scripture, and—not least—connections to Queen Katheryn Parr’s court cannot long escape official notice, or censure.
In a deft blend of history and imagination, award-winning novelist Rilla Askew brings to life a young woman who defied the conventions of her time, ultimately braving torture and the fires of martyrdom for her convictions.
Praise