Cold in Iceland

Burial Rites is Hannah Kent’s first novel and an auspicious start to her career. Set in 1828-1830, the plot is based on real people and factual events surrounding the last execution of a criminal in Iceland. For those who prefer their fiction historical and who have enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s Alias, Grace or the novels of Geraldine Brooks (who is thanked in the author’s note), this is a book you will want to read.

In 1828, a well known herbalist and healer (some said sorcerer) named Natan Ketilsson and another man were murdered at his desolate and remote homestead at Illugastadir. Natan’s two housemaids and a male neighbor were convicted for the crimes of arson and murder and sentenced to death by beheading. Burial Rites is an imagining of the life of one of those women, Agnes Magnusdottir. Agnes was 33 at the time of her conviction, nearly twice the age of the maid Sigga and the neighbor Fridrik. Before the sentence could be executed, the District Commissioner Bjorn Blondal was obliged to send the verdict and sentence to the king in Copenhagen for approval. In the mean time, Agnes (and each of the other convicts) had to be housed in Iceland, as there were no jails and sending them to Denmark was considered too great an expense. Blondal’s aim was to place them with good Christian families and inspire repentance before death.

We meet Agnes living in wretched conditions in a temporary “home jail” where she has been beaten and left shackled in a dark and squalid closet. Blondal has decided to move her to the family of one of his district officers, Jon Jonsson. The Jonssons — wife Margret, daughters Steina and Lauga, and a few servants — live on a farm that barely seems to cover their needs. Their home is made of sod and has crumbling walls, and the harsh and unpredictable weather can destroy the fruits of their hard labor overnight. When Blondal announces to the Jonssons that they are obliged to house a murderess, they fear for their own safety and for their reputations in the wider community. A young, newly ordained minister named Thorvardur Jonsson (no relation to the family), aka Toti, is to become Agnes’ confessor at Agnes’ request. During the time that Agnes lives with the Jonssons, we learn more about her past as a pauper, orphan and itinerant servant; the changing dynamic in the Jonsson household as a result of Agnes’ presence; and the details of the crime for which she stands convicted. Kent does a wonderful job of making her fictional details plausible in the face of the historical facts. She did extensive background research and includes excerpts from documents related to the trial at the beginning of each chapter. She also paints a vivid picture of daily life in Iceland, from farm routines to food and clothing to the harsh reality of being a poor female without family.

The overriding question is whether Agnes was guilty of the crime for which she was convicted. Kent’s imagining of the events at Illugastadir is plausible, and certainly the political and social climate of the time would have allowed for the suppositions of wealthy and powerful men to take the place of factual evidence in a court of law. But whether she did it or not, what really appealed to me is the portrayal of Agnes, Toti and the Jonssons. They come across as very real, human and humane characters. I especially liked the dynamic between Agnes and Margret. Margret, the matriarch, is facing her own death sentence due to her failing health. As the days move inexorably forward and the hard winter months return, a weight seems to fall on all the household as they wait to hear from the king about the death sentence and a date for execution. The last few pages of the story did tear me up.

Overall an impressive mix of history and fiction and a pretty good argument against the death penalty.