This first novel by an Australian author is a fictional version of the last few months in the life of the last person to be executed in Iceland – a woman, Agnes Magnusdottir, convicted of the murder of two men and sentenced to death by beheading in 1828.
The lack of prisons meant that prisoners were billeted with families – Agnes was sent to live with a peasant family on their remote farm, regardless of their wishes, by an officious District Commissioner whose cold-blooded adherence to the task of execution brooks no arguments.
Agnes was duly delivered, in chains, to the farm where no welcome waited; in the words of the farmer’s wife, Margret …”Just make sure the bitch stays away from the knives in my kitchen.” The young assistant church minister appointed to force repentance from Agnes is also there, riddled as he is with self-doubt about his mission, and provides the only note of kindness to the prisoner.
The story unfolds, partly in first-person memories and observations by Agnes, partly by the hapless young Reverend Toti as he attempts in vain to win her confidence with religious platitudes, and partly as description of the family’s various ways of coming to terms with this unwelcome tenant. Gradually Agnes proves herself to be an industrious and undemanding servant and we sense a change in the family’s attitude towards her with the exception of the younger daughter, Lauga.
The strength and humanity of the characters portrayed is matched by merciless descriptions of the poverty and grinding hardship of their lives in what appears to be a cruel and unrelenting climate – I could almost feel the cold and smell the unspeakable living conditions and feel the hunger of their meagre existence.
Although there is no need to guess about the inevitable conclusion – it is historical fact - the gradual revelation of the course of Agnes’ life and the story behind her conviction for murder are absolutely riveting reading, and I read the book in two days.
Apart from what must have been a mammoth exercise in research, Hannah Kent has drawn an unforgettable picture of life in general in early 19th century Iceland, and has done it with great empathy, not only for Agnes Magnusdottir but for the family who were forced to share her last months of life, and the whole social structure of the society at that time. It is not a pretty picture. It is a great book.
Helen
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