Hannah Kent came to the attention of the literary world in 2013 with her novel Burial Rites, a fictionalised retelling of the execution of Agnes Magnúsdóttir for double murder. Set in a remote part of Iceland in 1829, it is a visceral, seemingly authentic account (although there remains a question about what can be known definitively) that captured imaginations in Australia, Iceland and worldwide. Was Agnes’ sentence and punishment justified?
Kent has since written two other novels, The Good People and Devotion. These further explore some of her recurrent interests and themes, particularly that of the female ‘witch’ or ghost figure and the uncanny and supernatural. In her latest book, and first published non-fiction, Always Home, Always Homesick, she returns to Iceland to channel Agnes.Â
The exquisitely written memoir traces Kent’s arrival in Iceland as a high school exchange student. Life was difficult as the only Australian, non-Icelandic speaker in the northern town of Sauðárkrókur. Her first host family were terse and barely welcoming (although the author is careful not to complain). Attending school and gradually learning the language paved her way into the community, where she became part of a warm, caring family who, to this day, are an important part of her life.
After hearing of Agnes Magnúsdóttir and her shocking story, Kent meticulously researched Agnes and her circumstances to try to glean the truth about her actions and subsequent demise as the last woman hanged in Iceland. Back in Australia, Kent’s interest endured, and, with difficulty, she continued researching. Study grants enabled her to return to Iceland where she accessed primary resources and followed Agnes’s movements by physically travelling ’in her footsteps’ to ’superimpose all I know upon the land … [to] see the shape of Agnes’s life among the mountains, its confluence and convergence with the stories of others’.Â
Ten years after the publication of Burial Rites, Kent embarked on the writing of her memoir, which tracks her search for Agnes. The research process was daunting, and the archives were usually difficult to find and access. Fortunately, Kent (sometimes with the help of others) now reads enough Icelandic to sift through and understand the relevant documents. Luck and serendipity played a part.
Always Home, Always Homesick is a fine companion piece to Burial Rites. Kent has had time, opportunity and hindsight to consolidate her findings and recognise alternative analyses of the primary sources. Her interpretations have held up in both scholarly and literary circles.
Her personal experiences are told alongside the research journey. A young Australian in remote Iceland in 2003 was unusual. The climates and cultures of the two countries are very different. Icelanders revere books and libraries, ensuring a healthy literary society. Jólabókaflóð, Iceland’s traditional book-giving as gifts on Christmas Eve, is gradually being adopted by like-minded people around the world.
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Although Kent lives with her own loving family in South Australia, she is indelibly now part of the Icelandic literary fabric.
Agnes Magnúsdóttir is reputed to have been literate and intelligent. Kent shares those attributes, which perhaps helps to explain some of her fascination with this historical character and her desire to set the record straight through telling Agnes’ story.
The book’s title, Always Home, Always Homesick, and the intrinsic theme of ‘heimþrá’ (longing for home) will resonate with those who, like Kent, are pulled between two countries. Her memoir will also attract people who love the Danish concept of ‘hygge’ (cosiness) and winter culture of life in cold places, as well as those who found Burial Rites compelling.
Always Home, Always Homesick, Hannah Kent
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN: 9781761268434
Pages: 352pp
RRP: $36.99
Publication date: 29 April 2025
