Hannah Kent Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Hannah Kent is a popular Australian author known for writing historical fiction, mystery, and fiction books. She is particularly famous for her highly successful novel called Burial Rites. Author Kent was born in the year 1985 in Adelaide, Australia. She wrote her debut novel in 2013 under the title of Burial Rites, which became an international bestseller. This novel was translated into as many as 28 foreign languages in various countries of the world, and was nominated for the Bailey’s Women’s Award for Fiction. The book was also shortlisted for the Guardians Debut Book Award. It was able to win the Indie Award, the People’s Choice Award by Victorian Premier, and the ABIA Literary Award. Finally, Burial Rites received a nomination for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize. The second book of author Kent’s writing career is known as The Good People. It was published in 2016 in Australia and New Zealand, and in 2017 in the UK and North America. This book was also shortlisted for some of the most prestigious literary awards. Some of the most popular nominations include the Indie Award, the Walter Scott Award, the ABIA Literary Prize, etc. In addition to her contribution to literature, author Kent also co-founded the literary publication of Australia called as Kill Your Darlings. Kent also serves as the publishing director of this publication. In Burial Rites, author Kent has described the story of a woman named Agnes Magnusdottir. She is shown as a servant living in northern Iceland. Agnes was given the death sentence by the judicial system of Iceland for murdering two men. One of the men whom Agnes killed was her own employer. Agnes was the last lady in Iceland to have received the death sentence and eventually executed.

Author Kent was very much drawn to the notion of writing Agnes’ story after visiting the scene of her execution in one of the lonely areas of Iceland. The area is located near the place where author Kent stayed for a short period at the age of 18 when she was a Rotary student. This novel’s story describes a more sympathetic and ambiguous image of a woman’s life, who was widely regarded in the popular opinion as an inhumane witch and the one who stirred up murder. A documentary was made based on the experiences of author Kent in Iceland while doing the research work for the novel was aired on the ABC1 in 2013 as part of the Australian Story called No More Than A Ghost. Author Kent set the story of her second book in County Kerry in Ireland in the year 1825. This novel describes the struggle of a widow in finding a cure for her only grandson, who suffers from a mysterious speaking inability. The woman fears the other people in her community, thinking that she is a changeling living in a superstitious community. As of today, author Kent is pursuing a PhD in creative writing at the Flinders University. Kent is busy with the development work of the third novel of her literary career, which is expected to soon complete soon and put up for publishing in the coming days. Kent likes to hear from her fans and remains in touch with through her website and on social networking platforms. She keeps them updated about the latest happenings in her career and the release dates of her upcoming books through various posts.

The debut novel written by Hannah Kent is entitled ‘Burial Rites’. It was released by the Little, Brown & Company publishers in the year 2013. Author Kent has set this book’s story in Iceland and has mentioned the central characters as Agnes Magnusdottir, Reverand Johann Tomasson, Natan Ketilsson, Lauga Jonsdottir, Jon Jonsson, Margret Jonsdottir, Bjorn Blondal, Fridrik Sigurdsson, etc. At the start of the book’s story, it is shown that Agnes Magnusdottir is sent to a distant farm in one of Iceland’s remote locations to await for her execution. Agnes is charged for brutally killing her former boss. The family living on the farm seem horrified at the fact that they are housing a murderer. Therefore, they tend to avoid her initially. Out of all people around her, only Toti shows the intention of understanding her and also shows affection towards her. Toti has been chosen by Agnes as her spiritual guardian as per the direction of the jury. When the execution date of Agnes comes closer, the wife of the farmer and her daughters come to know a different side of the sensational story of Agnes. They realize that the story they have been hearing so far about Agnes is something else altogether. On the whole, the story is full of rich and riveting lyricism, and describes a dramatic existence at a distant place and time. After reading the book, the readers end up asking the question as to how a woman can endure her life when others tell the stories about her and decide what to do about her actions?

Another mind blowing book written by Kent is called ‘The Good People’. This book was released by the Pan Macmillan publication in the year 2016. The primary characters of this book include Micheal, Nance, Nora, Mary, etc. At the beginning of the story of the book, it is depicted that 3 women in 19th century Ireland come together to rescue a child from the superstitious community. They are joined by desperation and are hedged in by some gossips. One among them is Nora, who has lost her husband and is now left alone with her grandson named Micheal. Nora had known Micheal as a healthy and happy infant, but since the death of his parents, he has suddenly stopped walking and speaking. A servant girl from the rural parts of Ireland comes to Nora to help her in curing her grandson. She informs her that rumors have spread in the community that Micheal’s mysterious illness has brought misfortune into the community. They believe that he is a changeling and blame him for all the bad luck that has happened in the valley since his birth. Now, in order to get rid of the evil, Mary and Nora decide to take the help of an old woman named Nance. It is believed that Nance possesses some healing powers, however, she is now seen as a fraud and condemned by the new priest. All the three women end up indulging in a daring act in their attempt of banishing the evil, thereby putting their own lives in danger.