Prize for the Fire. Rilla Askew. 2022. 384 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: They live meanly here, Maddie, and demand of me that I do the same. It is not poverty of purse but meanness of spirit which causes them to crimp their mouths if one but ask for a bit of beef for one's supper.
Premise/plot: Prize for the Fire is historical fiction based on the life of Anne Askew (aka Anne Kyme). She lived during the reign of Henry VIII and suffered greatly, or, perhaps reaped much spiritually from her many, many, many sufferings. She was Protestant and an advocate for reading the Bible in English at a time when England was having an identity crisis of sorts spiritually. The country could not decide how much access people should have to the Word of God in English, particularly in terms of class and gender. Her reading the Bible in private AND forming her own opinions of what the text means led to many difficulties. But first and foremost this one is about how HARD her life was because she could not separate from her A**H*** of a husband. She lived at a time when men could literally do anything and everything to punish their wives for any perceived faults. Perhaps not all took advantage of this power, but some did. Anne sought help from her family--her parents, her brothers, etc. But no one was willing or able to help 'save' her from this abuse. Some even, in my opinion, betrayed her and sided with her husband his his family. Her own family saw her as TROUBLE in her insistence that she had the right to read the Word of God on her own privately. She also shared what she learned with others. Wikipedia says she was a preacher. I'm not sure I took that away from reading the novel. I saw her speaking with other women, other ladies, about the Word of God. I don't see her preaching [from a pulpit] to audiences. I suppose it depends on how you define preaching. OR the accuracy of Wikipedia.
My thoughts: Honestly this one started off so incredibly sluggish. I persisted because I knew if the story ever really began to pick up, it would be worth it. The last third of the novel was quite INTENSE and fast-paced. Much of this one--if not all--is heartbreaking. The thought that it could be deemed WRONG or even ILLEGAL to read the Bible in one's own home in one's own language is shocking. I think I knew this in the back of my mind. I knew that the transition from Roman Catholic to Protestant was ROUGH and deadly. That there were many who were imprisoned and/or martyred for matters of faith. Owning the Bible in English was novel during her lifetime. Being able to read AND study the Word of God was still "new" during this century.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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