Prize for the Fire - by Rilla Askew (Hardcover)

About the Book

While skillfully portraying a significant historical figure--one of the first female writers known to have composed in the English language--Prize for the Fire renders the inner life of Anne Askew with a depth and immediacy that transcends time.

Book Synopsis

Lincolnshire, 1537. Amid England's religious turmoil, fifteen-year-old Anne Askew is forced to take her dead sister's place in an arranged marriage. The witty, well-educated gentleman's daughter is determined to free herself from her abusive husband, harsh in-laws, and the cruel strictures of her married life. But this is the England of Henry VIII, where religion and politics are dangerously entangled. A young woman of Anne's fierce independence, Reformist faith, uncanny command of plainspoken scripture, and--not least--connections to Queen Katheryn Parr's court cannot long escape official notice, or censure.

In a deft blend of history and imagination, award-winning novelist Rilla Askew brings to life a young woman who defied the conventions of her time, ultimately braving torture and the fire of martyrdom for her convictions. A rich evocation of Reformation England, from the fenlands of Lincolnshire to the teeming religious underground of London to the court of Henry VIII, this gripping tale of defiance is as pertinent today as it was in the sixteenth century.

While skillfully portraying a significant historical figure--one of the first female writers known to have composed in the English language--Prize for the Fire renders the inner life of Anne Askew with a depth and immediacy that transcends time.

Review Quotes

"Prize for the Fire presents a haunting story-truth grounded in the brutalities of toxic masculinity mixed with the violence of political ambition and survival. Sadly, the story-truth of this novel never seems to outgrow its history."--American Book Review


"Like the gospel translators who changed Anne's life, Askew portrays a principled life and dramatic era in clear, vivid prose. The themes remain pertinent - the suppression of women's voices and the struggle for freedom in thought and religion. Askew has found in one Lincolnshire woman a symbol of courage and independence we would do well to remember."--Lincolnshire Life Magazine


"A page-turner. Prize for the Fire is a gripping saga--a very fine book and a major accomplishment."--Story Circle Network

"The author writes powerfully of this world of diminished and marginalized women... Prize for the Fire has the tone and feel of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, and it stands tall among the best of Tudor historical fiction."--Historical Novel Society


"The novel deftly shows the insecurity of the times. It succeeds in taking us inside the head of a religious fanatic, making her credible, sympathetic, and, in a way, inspiring. Highly recommended."-- ReadingWorld with Susan Coventry


"With poise and restraint, Rilla Askew's historical novel Prize for the Fire tells the brilliant, multifaceted story of an intelligent, virtuous, and indomitable woman."--Foreword Reviews


"Prize for the Fire is a triumph. Rilla Askew has captured the unquenchable spirit of a singular woman, Anne Askew, as she stands alone against the violent, tumultuous England of Henry VIII's final years. Readers of literary and historical fiction will find that this deeply researched novel and its passionate, elegiac prose will stay with them long after they close the book on Anne's story. Highly recommended."--Mary Anna Evans, author of the Faye Longchamp Mystery series


"Society's net gradually and then violently tightens around a woman who desires no more--and no less--than freedom of movement, speech, conscience, and faith. In Rilla Askew's riveting Prize for the Fire, the struggles of this sixteenth-century protagonist echo in contemporary battles over women's voices and bodily autonomy. A deeply sensitive and ambitious act of historical imagination."--Pamela Erens, author of The Virgins and Eleven Hours