1538, Oxford. Sister Grace, Infirmaress at Godstow Nunnery, is living a quiet life paced by life at the monastery and work in her garden. She delights in the visit from local foxes and seeks to care ever better for human bodies and souls. One day a young woman is found in the nearby river, unconscious but alive, and rescued by the nuns. As she wakes up and grows stronger, she takes part in the life of the nunnery and shows particular interest in the infirmaress’s work as well as a talent for it, but the mystery surrounding her is one that will take Sister Grace more than herbal remedies to unveil.

I’d been eyeing this book for a couple of years as I paid yearly visits to Blackwell’s Bookshop in Oxford, and 2024 was the year I finally gave in and bought myself a copy. What attracted me was the stunning object that this book is, with its thick paper, deliciously weathered French flaps and golden type, as well as the mention on the cover that reads “An Oxford novel”.

I discovered a slow and intentional novel filled with complex female characters and a variety of similarly-complex though understandably less important male characters. The atmosphere of the nunnery and the Oxonian countryside simply delighted me, and I revelled in the author’s subtly archaic prose. I can tell how carefully she poured over the words to adapt her vocabulary and turn of phrases to that of her characters, resulting in a very readable style that has a hint of archaism, just enough to be enjoyable and not make the reading experience a slog.

The story itself was a pleasure, starting slow and picking up just enough in the last third of the book. I had an “aha” revelation that occurred way too late into the novel but was fun anyway.

In addition to being gloriously put together, this book is fully illustrated with engravings by Eleanor Crook which are dark and eerie.

This book will delight readers who enjoy slow historical fiction, and retellings of famous stories (the clue is in the title).

Rep: one brown character, one disabled character.