Prize for the Fire
A Novel
by Rilla Askew
Published by: University of Oklahoma Press
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press
384 Pages | 6 x 9
$26.95
$21.95
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 transcend time.
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 transcend time.
Rilla Askew, born and raised in eastern Oklahoma, is the award-winning author of four novels, The Mercy Seat, Fire in Beulah, Harpsong, and Kind of Kin, and a collection of linked stories, Strange Business. She teaches creative writing at the University of Oklahoma.
“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
Forthcoming Events

Jill Hunting in Conversation with Mike Everhart at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History
Thursday. June 16, 2022 | 6:00 pm
Sternberg Museum of Natural History 3000 Sternberg Dr. Hays, KS 67601
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Meet Jill Hunting at Flint Hills Books
Saturday. June 18, 2022 | 1:30 pm
Flint Hills Books 130 W. Main Council Grove, Kansas 66846
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Author Talk with Jill Hunting at Full Circle Books
Tuesday. June 21, 2022 | 6:00 pm
Full Circle Books 50 Penn Place 1900 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City, OK 73118
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