Robyn Cadwallader

Pressured to marry and stricken by her sister's death in childbirth, a 13th-century Englishwoman devotes her life to prayer in a small locked cell that proves ineffective in shutting out the world. A first novel.

A Novel

The Anchoress

London, 1321: in a small shop in Paternoster Row, three people are drawn together around the creation of a magnificent book, an illuminated manuscript of prayers, a book of hours. Even though the commission seems to answer the aspirations of each one of them, their own desires and ambitions threaten its completion. As each struggles to see the book come into being, it will change everything they have understood about their place in the world.

Book of Colours

From a remarkable new Australian author comes THE ANCHORESS, a story set within the confines of a stone cell measuring seven paces by nine. Tiny in scope but universal in themes, it is a wonderful, wholly compelling fictional achievement. Set in the twelfth century, THE ANCHORESS tells the story of Sarah, only seventeen when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a small cell, measuring seven paces by nine, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth and the pressure to marry, she decides to renounce the world, with all its dangers, desires and temptations, and to commit herself to a life of prayer and service to God. But as she slowly begins to understand, even the thick, unforgiving walls of her cell cannot keep the outside world away, and it is soon clear that Sarah's body and soul are still in great danger ... Telling an absorbing story of faith, desire, shame, fear and the very human need for connection and touch, THE ANCHORESS is both mesmerising and thrillingly unpredictable.

Angleterre, 1255. À seulement dix-sept ans, Sarah décide de devenir anachorète. Dévouée à Dieu, elle vivra recluse dans une petite cellule mesurant neuf pas sur sept à côté de l’église du village. Fuyant le deuil de sa sœur adorée, morte en couches, et la pression d’un mariage imposé, elle choisit de renoncer au monde – à ses dangers, ses désirs et ses tentations – pour se tourner vers une vie de prière. Mais petit à petit elle comprend que les murs épais de sa cellule ne pourront la protéger du monde extérieur. Une autre idée du silence raconte l’histoire intemporelle d’une femme rebelle, prête à des sacrifices inimaginables pour se libérer des chaînes de la société. Elle enchante et hante le lecteur jusqu’à la dernière page.

Une autre idée du silence

From Robyn Cadwallader, the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of The Anchoress and Book of Colours, comes The Fire and the Rose, a vibrant, richly-imagined and deeply moving novel set in the turbulent world of 13th century England. England, 1276: Forced to leave her home village, Eleanor moves to Lincoln to work as a housemaid. She's prickly, independent and stubborn, her prospects blighted by a port wine birthmark across her face. Unusually for a woman, she has fine skills with ink and quill, and harbours a secret ambition to work as a scribe, a profession closed against women. But Eleanor discovers that Lincoln is a dangerous place, divided by religious prejudice, the Jews frequently the focus of violence and forced to wear a yellow badge. Eleanor falls in love with Asher, a Jewish spicer, who shares her love of books and words, but their relationship is forbidden by law. A priest threatens to expose her, and she is pulled into the dark depths of the church's machinations against Jews - and when the King issues an edict expelling all Jews from England, Eleanor and Asher are faced with an impossible choice. Vivid, rich, deep and sensual, The Fire and the Rose is a tender and moving novel about the love of the written word, and how language, words and books have the power to change and shape lives. It is also a novel about what it is to be made 'other', to be exiled from home and family. Most powerfully, it is a call to recognise how much we need the other, the one we do not understand, making it a strikingly resonant and powerfully hopeful novel for our times. PRAISE FOR THE FIRE AND THE ROSE: 'The walled medieval city of Lincoln comes alive again in this astonishingly immersive novel. As readers, we walk the streets, smell the market, sense the sneering whispers and hear the stones speak. The sensuous story of Asher and Eleanor's love, forbidden by laws separating Jews and Christians, carries Cadwallader's reach of history like a laser. A thrilling read' - Biff Ward, author of The Third Chopstick 'The Fire and the Rose is a heartbreakingly timeless tale, richly imagined and wondrously alive; every sentence yearns for a better way for humans to be together. No one writes with compassion and empathy quite like Robyn Cadwallader, and few can match her ability to move readers to their core. Unforgettable' - Nigel Featherstone, author of My Heart Is a Little Wild Thing 'Luminous, lyrical and deeply moving, Cadwallader's writing fills the senses and sings with detail and authenticity. A compelling story of love, resilience and hope in the face of oppression and racism, alive with imagery. I loved this book' - Karen Viggers, author of The Orchardist's Daughter PRAISE FOR ROBYN CADWALLADER: 'Robyn Cadwallader fashions words with the same delicate, colourful intensity that her 14th century illuminators brought to their illustrated manuscripts.' Sarah Dunant 'Book of Colours shows the depth of possibility a book might hold - all the while shimmering with the beauty and fragility of an ancient gilded page.' Eleanor Limprecht 'Elegant and eloquent' Irish Mail 'Cadwallader's writing evokes a heightened attention to the senses: you might never read a novel so sensuous yet unconcerned with romantic love. For this alone it is worth seeking out. But also because The Anchoress achieves what every historical novel attempts: reimagining the past while opening a new window - like a squint, perhaps - to our present lives.' Sydney Morning Herald 'A novel of page-turning grace' Newtown Review of Books

The Fire and the Rose

We Are Better Than This is a collection of essays and poetry addressing the Australian government's asylum seeker policy. The aims of the book are several: to provide some of the information about the situation in detention camps that is being withheld by the government; to correct some of the government's misrepresentations of the current situation; to clarify some of the complex legal issues surrounding the right to seek asylum, and to give some insight into the plight of those who are seeking asylum. It is hoped that this book will better inform people about the government's policies: to support those who are unsatisfied and seeking to change the situation, as well as those who are uncertain and need more easily accessible and reliable information. Contributors are drawn from several areas of expertise and engagement with asylum seekers.

Robyn Cadwallader

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