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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'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…'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Notes
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Dedication: For Aneliese
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Epigraph:
'Tis not that Dying hurts us so –
'Tis Living – hurts us more –
But Dying – is a different way –
A Kind behind the Door –
The Southern Custom – of the Bird –
That ere the Frosts are due –
Accepts a better Latitude –
We – are the Birds – that stay.
–Emily Dickinson
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also large print.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Learning to Love the Dislocation : Reflections on Writing The Anchoress
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Postmedieval : A Journal of Medieval Cultural Studies. , Summer vol. 7 no. 2 2016; (p. 273-284) 'When reading about and researching the beliefs, customs and lives of people and societies in the past, we can often find ourselves thinking, 'How very unlike us they were.' And equally as often, 'How very like us they were.' This essay reflects on the ways the author negotiated this tricky territory when writing her novel The Anchoress, the first-person narrative of a thirteenth-century anchoress.' (Publication abstract) -
Best Reads – End of Story
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Mail , 20 December 2015; (p. 24) -
Well Read
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 4 April 2015; (p. 33)
— Review of Skin 2015 single work novel ; The Anchoress 2015 single work novel -
Robyn Cadwallader : The Anchoress
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , May 2015;
— Review of The Anchoress 2015 single work novel -
Review : The Anchoress
2015
single work
— Appears in: Kirkus Reviews , 15 March 2015;
— Review of The Anchoress 2015 single work novel
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Discovering the World in a Single Room
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 March 2015; (p. 20) The Age , 7 March 2015; (p. 26) The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 March 2015; (p. 30-31)
— Review of The Anchoress 2015 single work novel -
Old Sects and the Single Girl
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14-15 March 2015; (p. 20-21)
— Review of The Anchoress 2015 single work novel ; Skin 2015 single work novel -
Review : The Anchoress
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 369 2015; (p. 63)
— Review of The Anchoress 2015 single work novel -
Review : The Anchoress
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 28 February 2015;
— Review of The Anchoress 2015 single work novel -
Review : The Anchoress
2015
single work
— Appears in: Kirkus Reviews , 15 March 2015;
— Review of The Anchoress 2015 single work novel -
Robyn Cadwallader
2015
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 February 2015; (p. 30-31) The Canberra Times , 14 February 2015; (p. 19) The Age , 14 February 2015; (p. 24) 'What would drive a young woman to lock herself away from the world, and what would be the effect?' -
Best Reads – End of Story
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Mail , 20 December 2015; (p. 24) -
Learning to Love the Dislocation : Reflections on Writing The Anchoress
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Postmedieval : A Journal of Medieval Cultural Studies. , Summer vol. 7 no. 2 2016; (p. 273-284) 'When reading about and researching the beliefs, customs and lives of people and societies in the past, we can often find ourselves thinking, 'How very unlike us they were.' And equally as often, 'How very like us they were.' This essay reflects on the ways the author negotiated this tricky territory when writing her novel The Anchoress, the first-person narrative of a thirteenth-century anchoress.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- 2016 longlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — The Matt Richell Award for New Writer
- 2016 longlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- 2016 shortlisted Indie Awards — Debut Fiction
- 2016 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards — Award for Fiction
- 2016 shortlisted Australian Capital Territory Book of the Year Award
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cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,
- 1255