Rapture : A fierce, feminist, sexy retelling of the life of the first and only female pope

A historical novel about patriarchy, ambition and faith for fans of Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait, Lauren Groff's Matrix and Hilary Mantel.

⭐ Longlisted for the Stella Prize

⭐ Shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year award

''A complex heroine who wrestles with the demands of faith, lust and ambition... A forceful wonder''
The Times, Historical Fiction Book of the Month

''A gripping, gorgeous story of faith and feminism... A rapturous read''
Daily Mail

''Mesmerising from beginning to end''
Glamour

''A spectacular story of shape-shifting, love and faith . . . It enthralled me''
Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist and The House of Fortune

''Astonishing . . . a scorching vision of a book''
Charlotte Wood, Booker-shortlisted author of Stone Yard Devotional

''A fierce, sexy, heady maelstrom of a book. It sucked me in from the first page''
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

The legend is only the beginning . . .

Ninth-century Mainz, in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire.

Agnes is the motherless child of an English priest - a wild and brilliant girl with a deep, visceral love of God. But when tragedy strikes, she is suddenly forced to choose between what is expected of her and the life she has always dreamed of. Determined to find her own freedom, she disguises herself as a man, securing a place at the revered Fulda monastery and forever altering the course of her existence.

Thus begins the life of John the Englishman: a matchless scholar and scribe of Fulda, then a charismatic heretic in an Athens commune and, by her middle years, a celebrated teacher in Rome. There, she dazzles the Church hierarchy with her knowledge of the old and new languages of Europe, theology and Church law, and finds herself at the heart of political intrigue in a city where gossip is a powerful - and deadly - currency.

And when the only person who knows her identity arrives in Rome, she will risk everything to once again feel what it is to be known - and loved.

More praise for Rapture

''All the hallmarks of a great thriller - such tension - mixed with the quiet, confident beauty of Agnes'' voice - her fury and her love''
Evie Wyld, author of The Echoes

''Bold and unexpected, Rapture buzzes with life and energy . . . Extraordinary''
Rosanna Pike, instant Sunday Times bestselling author of A Little Trickerie

''Emily Maguire has created an earthy, visceral, and sensual tale, full of devotion, intrigue and passion . . . A stunning novel''
Victoria MacKenzie, award-winning author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain

A note from the author

''Rapture is inspired by a thousand year-old story about a clever girl who dresses as a man to follow her lover to a monastery where she becomes a brilliant scholar and teacher, and eventually ends up - still in careful disguise - the most powerful person in Rome.

I feel like this is the book I''ve been working towards for my whole writing life. The story of an ambitious woman in a world where women are supposed to be modest. A woman whose mind refuses to accept a small life, and whose body is reviled while remaining, for her, a source of great joy. A woman, who, like so many oppressed people throughout history, finds a way to subvert and resist. To be who she is without permission or approval.

In Rapture this legendary, much-argued over figure is a flesh-and-blood woman of ingenuity, purpose and passion. Her name is Agnes, and I''m excited for you to meet her.''