In Europe, in the 800s – when Emily Maguire’s Rapture takes place – childbirth is viscerally scary. As a child, Agnes, whose own mother died in childbirth, witnesses a disturbing labour that results in the death of both mother and baby. Agnes, a precocious daughter of a priest, with an usually thorough education, realises that she doesn’t want to be a wife. She doesn’t want to die in fear. She wants to study theology.
Agnes cannot do this as a woman, so she spends her life disguising herself as a man. Though happy to read and write in peace and obscurity, her intelligence and surprising charisma bring her a series of grand opportunities.
Based on the legend of Pope Joan, as well as “gossip, conjecture, and the author’s imagination”, Rapture is a vivid story that evokes Virginia Woolf’s gender-bending epic, Orlando, and the strange biographical fortunes of Forrest Gump, while staying true to its own unique vision of faith, fear and giftedness.
Though placed in a historical in setting, Agnes is an immediate, relatable heroine. The viscera of pain and death is interwoven with reflections of divine purpose. Agnes is mostly determined that forging this peculiar path for herself is God’s will, yet she remains anxious about being caught, and with the many bad omens surrounding her as she ascends religious hierarchy, she also wonders if she may be mistaken. Living life undercover further brings many years of loneliness.
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While her book is religiously-themed, Maguire brings a deep sense of empathy to the time period, allowing Agnes’ challenges and emotions to take on a modern salience. Rapture would find a home in modern feminism, and on the bedside table of anyone who has felt confusion, fear, isolation and resolve. Rapture is an imaginative testament to the determination of the curious mind to find a way to grow, amid strict social laws that assume such brilliance impossible.
Rapture, Emily Maguire
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781761470899
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320pp
Publication: 1 October 2024
RRP: $32.99
