Burial Rites is the story of Agnes Magnusson who was found guilty of murdering her employer in Iceland in the 1800s. Because prison does not exist as a building in Iceland during this time period, she is sent to live with a family and has a spiritual advisor who is to come to visit her until the date of her execution. Agnes is not interested in praying with the "minister in training" she has chosen, but when he offers to let her tell about herself and her crime, she takes him up on the offer. When the minister become ill and cannot visit toward the end, she unburdens herself to the wife of the household she is staying in. At first the family is cold toward her, but eventually everyone treats her as though she belongs. I will not spoil the ending of this beautifully written and sad story.
This is a fictionalized version of a real event in Iceland.
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