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Prize for the Fire: A Novel Hardcover – October 25, 2022

by Rilla Askew (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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Lincolnshire, 1537. Amid England’s religious turmoil, fifteen-year-old Anne Askew is forced to take her dead sister’s place in an arranged marriage. The witty, well-educated gentleman’s daughter is determined to free herself from her abusive husband, harsh in-laws, and the cruel strictures of her married life. But this is the England of Henry VIII, where religion and politics are dangerously entangled. A young woman of Anne’s fierce independence, Reformist faith, uncanny command of plainspoken scripture, and—not least—connections to Queen Katheryn Parr’s court cannot long escape official notice, or censure.

In a deft blend of history and imagination, award-winning novelist Rilla Askew brings to life a young woman who defied the conventions of her time, ultimately braving torture and the fire of martyrdom for her convictions. A rich evocation of Reformation England, from the fenlands of Lincolnshire to the teeming religious underground of London to the court of Henry VIII, this gripping tale of defiance is as pertinent today as it was in the sixteenth century.

While skillfully portraying a significant historical figure—one of the first female writers known to have composed in the English language—Prize for the Fire renders the inner life of Anne Askew with a depth and immediacy that transcends time.
 
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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of Oklahoma Press
  4. Publication date
    October 25, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.31 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0806190728
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0806190723
  8. See all details
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“Society’s net gradually and then violently tightens around a woman who desires no more—and no less—than freedom of movement, speech, conscience, and faith. In Rilla Askew’s riveting Prize for the Fire, the struggles of this sixteenth-century protagonist echo in contemporary battles over women’s voices and bodily autonomy. A deeply sensitive and ambitious act of historical imagination.”—Pamela Erens, author of The Virgins and Eleven Hours 
 

“Prize for the Fire is a triumph. Rilla Askew has captured the unquenchable spirit of a singular woman, Anne Askew, as she stands alone against the violent, tumultuous England of Henry VIII’s final years. Readers of literary and historical fiction will find that this deeply researched novel and its passionate, elegiac prose will stay with them long after they close the book on Anne’s story. Highly recommended.”—Mary Anna Evans, author of the Faye Longchamp Mystery series
 

“With poise and restraint, Rilla Askew’s historical novel Prize for the Fire tells the brilliant, multifaceted story of an intelligent, virtuous, and indomitable woman.”—Foreword Reviews
 

“The novel deftly shows the insecurity of the times. It succeeds in taking us inside the head of a religious fanatic, making her credible, sympathetic, and, in a way, inspiring. Highly recommended.”— ReadingWorld with Susan Coventry
 

“The author writes powerfully of this world of diminished and marginalized women… Prize for the Fire has the tone and feel of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, and it stands tall among the best of Tudor historical fiction.”—Historical Novel Society
 

“Like the gospel translators who changed Anne’s life, Askew portrays a principled life and dramatic era in clear, vivid prose. The themes remain pertinent – the suppression of women’s voices and the struggle for freedom in thought and religion. Askew has found in one Lincolnshire woman a symbol of courage and independence we would do well to remember.”—Lincolnshire Life Magazine
 

“A page-turner. Prize for the Fire is a gripping saga—a very fine book and a major accomplishment.”—Story Circle Network

 

About the Author

Rilla Askew is a novelist, essayist, and short-story writer known for her award-winning historical fiction. Fire in Beulah, her novel about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, received the American Book Award. Her Dust Bowl novel, Harpsong, received the Oklahoma Book Award, and her essay collection, Most American: Notes from a Wounded Place, was long-listed for a PEN America Literary Award. She is Associate Professor of English at the University of Oklahoma. To learn more about her work, visit rillaaskew.com.
 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Oklahoma Press (October 25, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0806190728
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0806190723
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.31 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

About the author

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Rilla Askew

Rilla Askew

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Best known for her 2001 seminal novel about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, FIRE IN BEULAH. Askew has received the American Book Award, the Western Heritage Award, the Oklahoma Book Award, and the Myers Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. A PEN Faulkner finalist, Askew was inducted into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame in 2003 and received the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Her forthcoming novel about the 16th century English martyr Anne Askew will be published in October 2022.

In 2009 Askew received the Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her novel KIND OF KIN, which deals with a fractured family affected by a ruthless new anti-immigration law, was a finalist for the Western Spur Award, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, and was long-listed for the Dublin IMPAC Prize.

Askew's recent book of creative nonfiction, MOST AMERICAN: Notes From A Wounded Place, has been called by Kirkus Reviews "a thoughtful memoir in essays." In nine linked works of creative nonfiction, Askew spotlights the complex history of her home state. From the Trail of Tears to the Tulsa Race Massacre to the Murrah Federal Building bombing, Oklahoma appears as a microcosm of our national saga. U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo says of the work: "In Most American, Askew teaches us to see with wiser eyes."

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
37 global ratings
A must read historical fiction!
5 Stars
A must read historical fiction!
Rilla Askew, a master storyteller, blends history and fiction in this novel about a real person, Anne Askew, who struggles with issues still pertinent to women. The 16th century is presented in cinematic detail as the reader follows Anne in her quest for freedom.
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Top reviews from the United States

Vadasmaker
5.0 out of 5 stars An unforgettable book
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2022
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I have read all of Rilla Askew’s books. Some I liked more than others, but I didn’t dislike any of them. Her most recent, A Prize for the Fire, took me by surprise. I knew what it was about and I was somewhat disappointed. I didn’t think I would care to read about an overly-religious 16th century woman or Henry the Eighth or how badly women were treated. I have enough to worry about in this century,
However, by the time I was 10 pages in, I was hooked. Askew is a meticulous writer and researcher. She brought me into the world of Anne Askew, a 15-year-old girl married to a harsh, even brutal, man in the place of her sister, who had died, and there I stayed until the book’s end.
From the beginning, Anne simply cannot keep her mouth shut, and as the book goes on, she manages to put not only herself but her family in peril. There were times I wanted to climb into that book and stuff a sock in her mouth. How could she not realize the danger? She was a gentlewoman, yes, but “woman” is the operative part of that word. She receives scathing rebukes from her husband, her brothers, her parents, and even the Vicar (a thoroughly despicable man). And still, she persists in her religious fanaticism, flaunting it as often as she can.
A Prize for the Fire provides a sense of place and time like no other I have read. Coupled with Askew’s deft writing and sensitivity, it is truly a stunning work. I highly recommend it.
4 people found this helpful
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J. Lapin Zell
5.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to put down; Impossible to forget
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2023
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I am a historical fiction junkie and I am particularly drawn to novels about Tudor England. This is one of the finest pieces of historical fiction I've read, and I've read a lot. It is painstakingly researched, historically accurate and it sticks with the reader long after reading it. The author draws you in, and you cannot help but care about and admire Anne Askew for her steadfast beliefs and amazing courage. Exquisitely written and highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
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mtaylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Anne Askew--an independent female voice from the 16th century
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2022
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Highly recommend this real-life walk through a brief time in Tudor England. Even though I have read many fiction and non-fiction writings on this period, I was not prepared for my visceral reaction to the book. The author superbly manages to pull you into Anne Askew's world and see it warts and all. She was a reformist thinker in a time when women had little to no voice in their destinies--either to make personal choices or participate fully in their faith community. Clearly, highly researched for content, Rilla's ability to discuss the actions of a cast of characters creates a feeling of growing intensity that leaves a reader stunned at the story's end. A fabulous book for group discussions.
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Elaine B. Hobson
5.0 out of 5 stars This ancient story comes alive in your hands.
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2022
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Rilla Askew has created an explanation for the true story of a mysterious, tortured life and martyrdom from over 500 years ago. A coincidence of the author’s name and a real woman born in 1523, the modern day Askew has channeled her long-ago character’s love of life, family and children and the anguish of her plight as an oppressed woman in Old England. Her recreation of Anne Askew’s life journey from a clever and hopeful teenager forced into marriage with an overbearing, abusive husband bring the reader back in time to watch. Anne’s courage and persistence in her fight for personal and societal dignity, religious freedom, and even the right to a serene existence, is eerily foreboding of the fate of many courageous women throughout history and even to our present time. These scenes are happening in the 14th century and around the world in 2022. This is a book I had to force myself to put down every night, long past my bedtime.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Novelization of Anne Askew's Story
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024
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I've read several fictional portrayals of Anne Askew's life, and this novel is by far the best. It's impeccably researched and beautifully written.
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Anne Masters
5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece Theater Series in the Making!
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2022
Verified Purchase
It is a beautiful book. The cover evokes the time and place. Pamela Erens quote on the cover says that it is “a deeply sensitive and ambitious act of historical imagination.” I agree. Parts of the book are very touching. For example, I could visualize the scene in the chapel and in the sick room with Anne and her step-mother and the recovering young brother.
This book with its short chapters and the imagined action in between makes the book very readable and I think it moves along quickly.
One of the things I find most compelling about the story is the realization that women's issues today reflect women's issues in the sixteenth century.
4 people found this helpful
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William H. Jones, Jr
5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable book I didn’t want to end
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2023
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Rilla Askew’s Prize for the Fire is a remarkable read that follows Anne Askew through the chaotic England of Henry VIII as she attempts to stay true to herself when literally everything in her society is against her. I found most touching the early parts of the novel when Anne communes with her dead sister Maddie, and later when her loyal servant Beatrice becomes something of a surrogate sister who stands by Anne through everything, loving her even when she doesn’t fully understand her, which is the profoundest kind of love. It’s a book I couldn’t stop reading once I’d started, and one that I was sorry came to end.
2 people found this helpful
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Dona Graham
5.0 out of 5 stars A different point of view
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2023
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It's so interesting to see Anne portrayed as the historical human being that she was instead of a nutty minor character. It accurately describes the upheaval of Britain at this time and the impossibility of maintaining your land, home, and even your life when you can trust no one.
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Top reviews from other countries

gelsky
5.0 out of 5 stars Great telling of historical event
Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2023
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Great story to tell the events leading to the torture and burning of Protestant martyr , Anne Askew. They should make a movie of this event. The rule of Henry VIII was bad for more than just his wives!!
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