England, 1255. What could drive a girl on the cusp of womanhood to lock herself away from the world forever?
Sarah is just seventeen when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a cell that measures only seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth as well as pressure to marry the local lord's son, she decides to renounce the world--with all its dangers, desires, and temptations--and commit herself to a life of prayer.
But it soon becomes clear that the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah's cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought. With the outside world clamoring to get in and the intensity of her isolation driving her toward drastic actions, even madness, her body and soul are still in grave danger. When she starts hearing the voice of the previous anchoress whispering to her from the walls, Sarah finds herself questioning what she thought she knew about the anchorhold, and about the village itself.
With the lyricism of Nicola Griffith's Hild and the vivid historical setting of Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, Robyn Cadwallader's powerful debut novel tells an absorbing story of faith, desire, shame, fear, and the very human need for connection and touch. Compelling, evocative, and haunting, The Anchoress is both quietly heartbreaking and thrillingly unpredictable.

The Anchoress: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Cadwallader, Robyn

British & Irish

Sarah Crichton Books

The Anchoress

England, 1255. What could drive a girl on the cusp of womanhood to lock herself away from the world forever?Sarah is just seventeen when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a cell that measures only seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth as well as pressure to marry the local lord's son, she decides to renounce the world--with all its dangers, desires, and temptations--and commit herself to a life of prayer.But it soon becomes clear that the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah's cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought. With the outside world clamoring to get in and the intensity of her isolation driving her toward drastic actions, even madness, her body and soul are still in grave danger. When she starts hearing the voice of the previous anchoress whispering to her from the walls, Sarah finds herself questioning what she thought she knew about the anchorhold, and about the village itself.With the lyricism of Nicola Griffith's Hild and the vivid historical setting of Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, Robyn Cadwallader's powerful debut novel tells an absorbing story of faith, desire, shame, fear, and the very human need for connection and touch. Compelling, evocative, and haunting, The Anchoress is both quietly heartbreaking and thrillingly unpredictable.

Faber & Faber Fiction

England, 1255: Sarah is only seventeen when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a small cell, measuring seven paces by nine, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth and the pressure to marry, she decides to renounce the world, with all its dangers, desires and temptations, and to commit herself to a life of prayer and service to God. But as she slowly begins to understand, even the thick, unforgiving walls of her cell cannot keep the outside world away, and it is soon clear that Sarah's body and soul are still in great danger... Robyn Cadwallader's powerful debut novel tells an absorbing story of faith, desire, shame, fear and the very human need for connection and touch. With a poetic intelligence, Cadwallader explores the relationship between the mind, body and spirit in Medieval England in a story that will hold the reader in a spell until the very last page.

Genre Fiction

Faber&Faber

“The book that the whole literary world can’t stop talking about.” ―Marie Claire (Australia) “A considerable achievement.” ―Sarah Dunant, The New York Times Book Review
England, 1255: Sarah is only seventeen when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a small cell, measuring seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister as well as the pressure to marry, she decides to renounce the world―with all its dangers, desires, and temptations―and commit herself to a life of prayer. But when she starts hearing the voice of the previous anchoress whispering to her, seemingly from the stones themselves, it soon becomes clear that even the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah’s cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought.
An absorbing story of faith, desire, shame, fear, and the human need for connection, The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader is a haunting and compelling novel: both quietly heartbreaking and thrillingly unpredictable.

Picador

Book of Colours

Literary

Fourth Estate/Harper Collins

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

"Robyn Cadwallader fashions words with the same delicate, colourful intensity that her 14th-century illuminators brought to their illustrated manuscripts." SARAH DUNANT From the author of the internationally acclaimed novel The Anchoress - hailed by the New York Times Book Review as "finely drawn... a considerable achievement"-comes a profound and moving historical novel about the importance of creativity and the power of connection".In London, 1321, at a time of political upheaval, three people are drawn together in a small shop in Paternoster Row around the creation of a magnificent book, an illuminated manuscript of prayers. The book has been commissioned by a wealthy noblewoman, Lady Mathilda Fitzjohn, as a status symbol to showcase her family's improving station.John Dancaster begins work on the manuscript along with his wife Gemma, a talented illuminator in her own right, although she must hide her skill as the guild forbids women. Into their lives walks the mysterious Will Asshe, a gifted artist, but a man hiding a shadowy past.As the baronial revolt increases tensions within London and Lady Mathilda has to grapple with her changing fortunes once her husband rides off to war, completing the book becomes a fraught task. Even though the commission has seemed to answer the aspirations of each of these people, their own desires and ambitions threaten its completion. In poetic and transportive prose, Cadwallader illuminates the roiling and turbulent world of the early fourteenth century in a compelling story of power, status and the role of women in a forgotten time.Praise for The Anchoress:"So beautiful, so rich, so strange, unexpected and thoughtful-also suspenseful. I loved this book." Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls"A detailed, sensuous and richly imagined shard of the past." Geraldine Brooks, author of People of the Book

Book Of Colours

Contemporary

4th Estate - AU

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Books by Cadwallader, Robyn

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The Anchoress: A Novel

The Anchoress

The Anchoress

The Anchoress: A Novel

Book of Colours

The Anchoress

Book Of Colours