More than a decade after it introduced readers to a woman history had largely condemned, Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites has earned a place among some of literature’s most celebrated titles.
The 2013 novel was recently included on Pan Macmillan’s list of the 50 best books of all time. It appears in the historical fiction section, where the publisher described it as a “dark yet thrilling work” and an “unputdownable must-read.”
Set in northern Iceland in 1829, Burial Rites reimagines the final months of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, a real woman condemned to death for her involvement in the murders of two men.
While awaiting her execution, Agnes is sent to live with District Officer Jón Jónsson and his family on their remote farm. The family is initially horrified by her presence, but as Agnes shares her account of what happened, their certainty about her guilt begins to weaken. A young assistant reverend named Tóti is also assigned to prepare Agnes for death and becomes determined to understand her.
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Kent first encountered Agnes’ story when she was a 17-year-old exchange student in Iceland. She was driven past the location of the country’s last execution and became curious about the woman at the center of it.
“I spent the rest of my exchange and the years that followed it trying to satisfy my curiosity,” Kent told Authorlink. “Who was Agnes? What social, political or cultural circumstances had contributed to her fate?”
Kent later spent nearly two years researching 19th-century Iceland, using censuses, ministerial records, original documents and other historical sources to reconstruct Agnes’ world. She said she was frustrated by accounts that presented Agnes as simply evil and wanted the novel to explore her humanity.
Burial Rites became an international bestseller and was translated into more than 30 languages. It was also shortlisted for the 2014 Women’s Prize for Fiction and earned several honors in Australia, establishing Kent as a major new voice in historical fiction.
Kent later released the novels The Good People and Devotion. In 2025, she revisited the Icelandic exchange that changed her life in her memoir, Always Home, Always Homesick, while also reflecting on how her understanding of Agnes’ story has changed through the years.
“For every story we hear, there is another side that may be as equally, subjectively true,” Kent said. Its new place among Pan Macmillan’s must-read books suggests readers remain captivated by the other side of Agnes’ story.
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