Longlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize, Emily Maguire's Rapture (2024) is a brilliant work of historical fiction.
Set in the ninth century, the story begins in 821 in Mainz where young, motherless Agnes is being raised by her father, an English priest. She hides under the table and listens to the guests her father entertains talk about religion and a world outside her hometown. Her father teaches her to read and gives her books from which she learns history and religion. As she enters her teens and becomes of marriageable age, she grows fearful that her life will be diminished and that she is fated to die in childbirth.
She meets Randulf, a Benedictine monk, who visits the house. Most of her father's guests ignore her, but Randulf engages, asking her opinions and valuing her insight. They become friends and he brings her books by Cicero, Virgil and others which expand her worldview. When her father dies, she is destined to enter a convent. She pleads with Randulf for another solution. He helps disguise her as a man and brings her to Fulda Abbey where she trains as a Benedictine monk under the name Brother John.
For the next few years, as John, Agnes' skills are put to use translating and transcribing ancient texts. She lives a humble life of devotion, prayer and contemplation, forever fearful that her body will betray her and her secret will be exposed. Eventually she leaves the Abbey and travels to Greece and later to Rome. With each move she uses her knowledge of theology and oratory skills to secure a position. She becomes known for her charity and kindness, a contrast to many men in the church who use their positions to acquire wealth or favour. In Rome, her stature grows and she is appointed Pope Johannes Anglicus and reigned for two years (855-857) before her story ends.
Maguire has based her novel on the legend of
Pope Joan about a medieval woman who disguised herself as a man and ascended to the highest religious office. While it is most likely merely a myth, it is certainly a tantalising tale given the staunch patriarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, providing Maguire with an opportunity to craft a story from the female point of view.
I absolutely loved this novel and was engrossed in the tale from the outset. It is a story of love, devotion, and friendship. Agnes is a fully formed character with curiosity and desire. Maguire has vividly portrayed the time and place, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the story. I would highly recommend
Rapture to anyone who enjoys works of historical fiction like Maggie O'Farrell's
The Marriage Portrait (2022), Hannah Kent's
Devotion (2021) or Kate Grenville's
A Room Made of Leaves (2020).
Emily Maguire is such a fascinating author, shifting seamlessly between genres. I have written previously about her brilliant Aussie Noir crime novel
An Isolated Incident (2016) and her compelling contemporary fiction
Love Objects (2021). She is an author to watch and I am cheering her on for the Stella Prize!
Set in the ninth century, the story begins in 821 in Mainz where young, motherless Agnes is being raised by her father, an English priest. She hides under the table and listens to the guests her father entertains talk about religion and a world outside her hometown. Her father teaches her to read and gives her books from which she learns history and religion. As she enters her teens and becomes of marriageable age, she grows fearful that her life will be diminished and that she is fated to die in childbirth.