Canticle - by Janet Rich Edwards (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A masterful debut novel following a spirited young woman's explorations of faith, agency, and love in thirteenth-century Bruges.

Aleys is sixteen years old and unusual: stubborn, bright, and prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, Finn, a young scholar, have been learning Latin together in secret--but just as she thinks their connection might become something more, everything unravels. When her father promises her in marriage to a merchant she doesn't love, she runs away from home, finding shelter among the beguines, a fiercely independent community of religious women who refuse to answer to the Church.

Among these hardworking and strong-willed women, Aleys glimpses for the first time the joys of belonging: a life of song, meaning, and friendship in the markets and along the canals of Bruges. But forces both mystical and political are at work. Illegal translations of scripture, the women's independence, and a sudden rash of miracles all draw the attention of an ambitious bishop--and bring Aleys and those around her into ever-increasing danger, a danger that will push Aleys to a new understanding of love and sacrifice.

Grounded in the little-told stories of medieval women--mystics, saints, anchoresses, and beguines--and introducing a major new talent, Canticle is a luminous work of historical fiction, vividly evoking a world on the verge of transformation.

Review Quotes

"Atmospheric and unforgettable."--People, "Best Books of December 2025"

"Splendid . . . A reluctant miracle worker is at the heart of this novel, which takes place in late 13th-century Bruges, a city roiled by spiritual ferment."--The New York Times

"While [Canticle] feature[s] terrific and authentic detail . . . the message beneath the descriptions is far more terrifying and authentic: For centuries, the fear of female agency and non-male approaches to power has led to deep trauma, not just for individual women, but for Western civilization itself. . . . [In Canticle] you'll be reminded that change can and does happen, one determined woman at a time."--Los Angeles Times

"Some readers will catch echoes of Lauren Groff's 2021 novel, Matrix, about the 12th-century poet Marie de France, but Edwards's fidelity to the Christ-saturated imagination of the period is bolder. . . . Canticle is itself something of a daring act of translation. Edwards manages to produce a modern narrative that remains leashed to ancient experience and the evolving religious practices of the era--some shockingly peculiar. By preserving the ideals and even the phrases of actual medieval mystics, she keeps her story from turning into a costume drama pleasingly decorated with New Age gobbledygook. The Aleys we follow into the flames remains fanatical and weird and devoted in a way that passeth all understanding and yet feels purified by love."--The Washington Post

"Canticle is an auspicious debut--and hopefully not the last novel we'll read from Rich Edwards. . . . [It's] a mystical story that immerses us in an earlier century, in the vein of Lauren Groff's Matrix or Sue Monk Kidd's The Book of Longings. If you loved either of them, as I did, you might have a hard time putting down Canticle."--The Minnesota Star Tribune

"While Janet Rich Edwards' lushly written debut skewers ecclesiastical hypocrisy, it gives genuine faith its due. It also celebrates a formidable sisterhood whose thankless bravery and quiet practice of kindness reminds us all of what is truly holy."--Amazon.com, "Best Books of December 2025"

"Inspired by the actual stories of medieval mystics, this page-turning novel celebrates women finding courage, autonomy, and joy in a society that seeks to suppress their independence."--Real Simple, "Top Picks for Book Club & Beyond"

"Canticle is a diverting, richly imagined romp of a novel, and even those of us who have read enough histories of saints to know how they generally end will enjoy learning how Edwards realizes Aleys's ambitions. . . . With a story constructed out of historical research that is as in-depth as it is lightly worn, Edwards makes [her] material feel classic, not clichéd."--America

"Luminous, mesmerizing . . . Told from the vantage point of women, Canticle is a glorious historical novel that evokes the fervor and flavor of medieval Christian culture."--Foreword Reviews (starred)

"Janet Rich Edwards brings historical acuity and imaginative sensitivity to Canticle. . . . In the beguine movement--communities of women living together on the margins of the institutional church--Edwards found a compelling setting in which to explore aspects of religious experience outside ecclesial structures, sometimes in direct conflict with it. . . . For readers attuned to these topics, Canticle holds nothing back."--National Catholic Reporter

"In Canticle, Janet Rich Edwards brings the medieval world brilliantly to life, exploring the dreams and desires of a community of women whose fascinating stories sing from every page. The novel is a suspenseful page-turner that is also rigorously researched and utterly convincing--a true gem of historical fiction."--Bruce Holsinger, author of Culpability

"Janet Rich Edwards has written a brave, intense novel about the mystical nature of a young woman's faith and how easily it can find itself in opposition to politics and entrenched power."--Sarah Dunant, New York Times bestselling author of The Birth of Venus

"Compelling, lyrical, and fresh, Canticle is a conjuring--of time, place, society, struggle. A tale of immense beauty, kinship, and how vision can be gift and curse in a world where the belief of a few can stifle the truth of the many, Aleys's story is a miraculous work of historical fiction."--Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

"An enthralling debut and a page-turning story set in medieval Belgium, filled with faith and family and passion, and one girl's drive toward the divine."--Tatjana Soli, New York Times bestselling author of The Lotus Eaters

"An inspired tale of a devout and defiant young woman in medieval Bruges . . . Drawing on stories and biographies of medieval saints, Rich Edwards faithfully highlights the lives of 13th-century religious women and the sacrifices they were forced to make. Readers of Lauren Groff's Matrix ought to take a look."--Publishers Weekly

"Rich Edwards's fierce, luminous debut novel explores dynamics of power, agency, love, and faith through the life of a spiritually hungry young woman in 13th-century Belgium. . . . An exploration of a young woman's hunger for a deeper purpose, a sharp-eyed examination of power's corrosive effects, and a testament to the impact of quiet, faithful service like that of the beguines."--Shelf Awareness

"In elegant prose, [Canticle] juggles big spiritual ideas with big social issues. . . . Rich Edwards has a twist or two in store, plus some stark examples of clerical corruption that are as relevant in the 21st century as they were in the 13th."--Kirkus

"Canticle is a ferocious fever dream of a novel brimming with love, sisterhood, sacrifice, and lyric delight. As we watch young Aleys attempt to forge a sacred life, she is thrown from belonging to isolation to the pyre, raising questions that strike closest to the bone: What is a miracle? Who gets to decide? And in the end, what does the world really want from us?"--Michelle Hoover, author of The Quickening and Bottomland

"Written with luminous simplicity and precision, Canticle is both a coming-of-age novel and a meditation on the limits of spiritual understanding, making for a deeply human hagiography. Even as she ascends towards sainthood and martyrdom, Aleys never feels abstract or inaccessible as a protagonist. As the world around her turns on the whims of a church willing to kill to keep its beleaguered flock in ignorance, her desire for perfect union with God--in both a sensual and spiritual sense--feels vital and revolutionary. With its cast of powerful, independent women living in the margins, its vibrant merchant halls, teeming canals, and backstabbing church politics, Canticle brings a much-misunderstood era to vivid life. I'm excited to see what Janet Rich Edwards does next."--Hesse Phillips, author of Lightborne

About the Author