It's not an excess of religious zeal that drives Agnes Peppin to enter an abbey in Victoria Glendinning's historical fiction novel The Butcher's Daughter. Though she's not an unbeliever, she doesn't have particularly deep convictions. Rather, teenage Agnes arrives at Shaftesbury Abbey because she fell pregnant with the child of a neighbor, Peter, in her small village. Peter's sister had recently lost a child of her own, so when Agnes's baby is born, he's given to Peter's family and Agnes is sent to the Abbey to join the sisters there. She comes to find some measure of contentment and a role for herself in the community, but it's not a great time to have joined a Catholic order. You see, Agnes lives in the time of Henry VIII, and his religious reforms threaten the Abbey's continued existence.

In her childhood, Agnes had learned to read and write and these skills land her a position as the Abbess's personal assistant. So she's right there as the Abbess tries desperately to save their way of life, but ultimately fails. It's about halfway through the book that the women are finally turned out of their homes and sent into the world, and Agnes has to figure out what's next. Going off with a fellow sister? A return to home? To the big city of London to find her fortune? She ends up exploring all of these paths and more while contemplating what it really is she wants out of the rest of her life.

Victoria Glendinning has written several biographies, and while skill sets don't always transfer over neatly (and I've never read any of her bios, so I can't speak to their level of execution), I think it really helped her make Agnes a well-realized, compelling character. Agnes is not your typical historical fiction heroine...I feel like many authors in the genre default to making their protagonists read like modern spunky young women to appeal to their intended audience of modern women. Agnes, however, is clearly an introvert and spends a lot of time thinking things that she doesn't say. She breaks with the gender conventions of her time gently, without raging about the restrictions upon her as a woman in a man's world. Since the book is deeply centered on her experience of the world, a character that feels real is crucial, and Glendinning pulls it off very well.

It was also refreshing to get a historical fiction perspective that wasn't from the top of the social hierarchy. We've all read (and I've personally enjoyed) a bunch of books about the court of Henry VIII, but this book shines a light on people further down, for whom Henry's marriages and divorces are background noise to the actual living of their lives. It wasn't just the people actually living in the dissolved monasteries who were impacted, it was the people who depended on services that religious houses provided, and this book shone a light on that. That being said, there were a few things that kept this from being even better for me. The biggest issue I had with the book was that it felt like Agnes' path was a little too easy. She drifts into one thing, and then into the next, in a way that seems improbably fortunate. The resolution of the plotline of a side character, Elinor, also felt a little off and I wished that it had been cut. Those quibbles aside, though, this is an interesting, unusual take on the genre and time period and I'd recommend it for people who'd like to broaden their reading in the historical fiction realm.

Agnes Peppin is the daughter of a butcher. As a young girl she makes a mistake. She meets a boy and becomes pregnant. Having disgraced her family, she is sent to Shaftesbury Abbey to have her child and then become a nun. She is lucky. The only reason she is accepted at Shaftesbury is because her mother has powerful connections through her family. When Agnes has the baby, it is sent away to be raised by the father's family and she settles in to life in the Abbey. Agnes is chosen as assistant and secret-keeper by the Abbess because she can read and write. Unfortunately King Henry the VIII is on the throne and his Great Matter threatens the abbey. The king divorces one wife, marries another, beheads the new wife....and along the way monasteries and abbeys are dissolved, their assets taken by the crown and the buildings razed. It's not a safe time to be Catholic. Finally Agnes is faced with the question of where she will go when Shaftesbury Abbey is no more.

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit slow at the beginning, but as I got to know the characters and got pulled into the daily life of a disgraced girl in the Tudor era, I found myself mesmerized by the story. Agnes lives in an age where women had few choices....men mostly made their choices for them. I liked the fact that the story gave another angle to the tale of King Henry and his fracas with the Catholic Church. I had never really thought about what it might have been like for the nuns and priests who suddenly had no place to live and no church to worship in. It must have been terrifying and extremely sad for them. Not to mention dangerous. Agnes also discovers that there is much hypocrisy, lying and secrets hidden by those around her.

I found this book to be quite thought provoking. Agnes accepts so much without question or argument because she really isn't allowed to have an opinion. She's a woman.....a disgraced woman....and she knows her place in the scheme of things. At first, I thought she was weak, but then I realized she just knows things are they way they are. She has no hope of changing anything so why voice any dissent? And she learns that pointing out hypocrisy or problems usually just ends with her getting in trouble for noticing something that isn't her concern. So it's not really weakness....but wisdom on her part to remain silent. I don't think I would have survived had I lived in the Tudor era.

All in all, an interesting read. Anyone interested in the Tudor era would enjoy this story.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Overlook (W.W. Norton) via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Ehhhh. The writing was great and the story itself moved along quickly. But I found myself not really buying it. It was too feminist. Women in the 1530s didn't know about gender inequality, nor would it have occurred to them to demand it. The story is fun just for pure entertainment, but for accuracy, I would look elsewhere.

I didn't get to download this book before it was archived. It looked like a great book. Thank you for allowing me the chance to review it, even though I was unable to do so.

After being taken advantage of, Agnes is sent to live out her days in a convent. However, Henry VIII is on the throne, and he soon breaks from the Catholic church and orders the convents and monasteries destroyed. I had never really thought about what happened to the monks and nuns who were displaced by these horrible events, and The Butcher's Daughter makes their suffering all too real. I enjoy historical fiction and found it to be well researched and well written,

A meticulously researched novel about a young girl, Agnes, (a butcher's daughter) during the Tudor period under King Henry VIII. We follow Agnes' journey from her family home to an Abbey, after she gives birth to an illegitimate child. Because Agnes can read and write, she takes the position as secretary to the Abbess, becoming privy to the inner workings of the abbey. After the Reformation's dissolution of the monasteries & abbeys, Agnes searches for a new life during a time when options were very limited for women.

While the historical detail was well done, I found this story a bit slow and I lost interest in what happens to Agnes. There is lots to think about in terms of women in history, and if you like the Tudor period, this book offers a very different viewpoint from the sumptuous royal courts.

Thanks you Netgalley and The Overlook Press for an advanced copy of this book.

Victoria Glendinning’s The Butcher’s Daughter explores a theme I hadn’t considered before—or even really addressed—in historical discussions of Henry VIII’s dissolution of abbeys and monasteries after he threw off the Catholic Church and established the church of England. I realize this sounds dry, but exploring what happened to women and men who suddenly had no place to stay or way to make a living after the dissolution turned out to be rich territory for historical fiction.

At least, it might have been if Glendinning hadn’t used her narrator purely as a pair of eyes with almost no opinions of her own. My reaction to Never Anyone but You was not a fluke, apparently; this type of narrator just doesn’t work for me.

Agnes Peppin, the titular daughter of a butcher, is sent to Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset after she gives birth to an illegitimate son. Marrying the father is not an option, so it’s a nunnery for Agnes. There aren’t a lot of options for women even if they don’t run afoul of the social mores of the time. If you’re not a wife, you have to become a nun. (Spinsterhood doesn’t seem to be an available option either.) Agnes doesn’t have a religious calling, but she does seem to appreciate being useful without being a drudge. Early in the novel, Agnes references the Biblical story of Martha and Mary. When Christ visits, Mary listens to him speak while Martha does the cooking and serving. Martha’s complains are met with scolding that listening to men talk about religion is more important than getting things done. Agnes is on Martha’s side. Life at Shaftesbury agrees with her for the most part, though she wishes that she might be free to explore the wider world.

Agnes is offered a position as the Abbess’ secretary shortly after she arrives at Shaftesbury, thanks to her ability to read and write. As a secretary, she is privy to all sorts of discussions that a mere novice would never get to hear. She shows us the Abbess’ struggle to preserve as much of the Abbey’s riches and land as possible so that the women of the abbey can have somewhere to stay. Many of them are old. Most have no where to go or family to take them in. A few are so devoted to their faith that they wouldn’t be able to function in the outside world even if they did have a place to go to. After Shaftesbury is dissolved, Agnes heads out into the world and makes a meager living with one of the odder inhabitants (one who ends up threatening her life more than once).

I worried for Agnes and her fellow former nuns and novices. It’s a hard world now for a single woman. Life was exponentially harder for one in the sixteenth century. And yet, even though this is rich emotional ground for a writer, Agnes only gives us glimpses of the struggles of the other women. Her own struggles are glossed over with little reflection. I was intrigued, but disappointed by how this book fails to fully explore the issue. It’s entirely possible that I just don’t like this kind of narrator and it’s coloring my review. Other readers may enjoy this book for its unique setting and themes. I’m going to wait for something with a little more soul.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration. It will be release 19 June 2018.

A wonderful travel through England during the reign of Henry the Eighth. Our protagonist is a young woman named Agnes who finds herself an outlier in that although the daughter of a butcher, she yearns for more than a family and home, she wants to read and be free. We follow her journeys from her home to an Abbey where she is a novice and then after the dissolution of the abbeys by Henry the Eighth, around the countryside in England. I was absolutely transported. The descriptions and imagery in this book were wonderful and I could imagine every moment in minute detail. This book should be required reading when taking world history classes because it outlines how the changes in politics had their tolls on the common people. I found no flaws in this book and it appeared to be very meticulously researched as well.

Glendinning brings formidable background in Tudor society to this novel, told through the life of a butcher's daughter, sent through a family favor to live in Shaftesbury Abbey after a sexual indescretion. Discovering a love of reading and cloistered life, her future shatters on the Reformation dissolution of the monasteries, sending her out into a rapidly changing and politically perilous world without money, connections or status. Very much in the vein of Hilary Mantel's dark vision of early modern England, there are no happy endings or deus ex machina, just ordinary people trying to survive with some bit of personal fulfillment.