Canticle - by Janet Rich Edwards (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION * NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOKS OF 2025 * SPOTIFY BEST DEBUTS OF 2025 * GOODREADS READERS' MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF FALL

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