Now, I if you think a book about a 12th century nun running an abbey would be boring, you’re wrong.

Matrix is loosely based on the life of Marie de France, if you’re looking for a wholly accurate representation of her life then this probably isn’t the book for you. I believe that to truly enjoy this book you have to distinguish our main character from the historical figure. I took Marie to be entirely fictional with some traits merely borrowed from her inspiration.

The life of the Marie in this book may divert a bit from history but she is engaging and relatable in her own right. I enjoyed following her story from illegitimate sister of the King and admirer of the Queen to reluctant prioress, and finally, to confident abbess. Marie is the type of character you want to root for despite questioning some of her decisions, particularly as she settles into her position of power. I would have liked Marie to come up against some bigger threats, she seemed to successfully take on any challenge that came her way, but it was refreshing to have a main female character that exerted so much strength and control.

We cover most of Marie’s life in this book and some areas did feel a bit rushed but it was interesting to consider the main influences on her life and how these continually shape her character.

A real highlight of this book is Groff’s beautiful writing and how she pulls you into the Middle Ages and life at the abbey.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Matrix is a richly captivating and boldly ambitious historical reimagining of the life of Marie de France - a visionary leader, queer lover and medieval poet and writer - set in 12th century England and fuses together impeccable research with an active imagination to craft an assertively modern novel about female ambition and creativity. The story opens on a frigid winter day in 1158, 17-year-old Marie de France has been exiled from the French court by Eleanor of Aquitaine after being deemed too wild for life in the royal court and too unattractive to be considered for marriage. Marie is strange - tall, a giantess, her elbows and knees stick out, ungainly. The nun-to-be is now alone riding towards her new home - a rundown, remote abbey riddled with famine and disease - but very much against her will thanks to Eleanor. Her previous life as a lady-in-waiting in the glittering Westminster court of Queen Eleanor now feels a million miles away, but Marie is the awkward bastard daughter of the queen's father-in-law. She'd always been a clumsy fit in the court, and the coldly beautiful queen, whom Marie secretly loved, was only too happy to get rid of her.

She swiftly takes the reins as the new prioress of the impoverished abbey, however, she is at first taken aback by the severity of her new life and is resistant to it, yet Marie finds focus and love in collective life with her singular and mercurial sisters. Marie is shocked by the condition of the nuns, who are starving and in poor health. In this crucible, Marie steadily supplants her desire for family, for her homeland, for the passions of her youth with something new to her: devotion to her sisters and a conviction in her own divine visions. Marie, born the last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, is determined to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects and bring them to riches and power. But in a world that is shifting and corroding in frightening ways, one that can never reconcile itself with her existence, will the sheer force of Marie’s vision be bulwark enough? This is a captivating, fiercely feminist novel that gathers currents of violence, sensuality and religious ecstasy in a mesmerising portrait of consuming passion, aberrant faith and a woman that history moves both through and around.

It is a bold vision of female love, devotion and desire from one of the most adventurous writers at work today and a truly dizzying linguistic reading experience that captures the medieval magical environment of extravagance and disgust with an empathy that creeps under the skin and into the psyche. At the same time, it is an astonishing new perspective on women throughout history, and our history in general. Certainly a highlight of the reading year for myself, this is one of the most extraordinary novels I have read in some time and a wholly original and unforgettable story set in the 12th century which tackles some of the same forms of female oppression and underestimation that we still see pervading women’s lives across the world today albeit in a less stark manner. It is a magnificent work of literature – about power and governance but also about love and passion. Fearless, beautiful and utterly engaging, Matrix is a transcendental, beautifully written historical tale with sensuality, religious ecstasy, gender and power explorations, and a fair bit of tasteful gore. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was intrigued to read this book, as the students at my library study Marie de France's Lais but I didn't know anything about the woman herself. Groff's novel is a lyrical exploration of womenhood, finding your place in the world and spirituality, with Marie coming across as a larger than life character in more ways than one. The LGBTQ+ representation was well done and I enjoyed the window into the life and economics of a nunnery. Anyone interested in religious history, women's history or who just enjoys strong female characters will like this book.

The concept of this book intrigued me - giving a fictional persona to the poet Marie de France about whom little is known. Lauren Groff chooses to make Marie the illegitimate daughter of a Plantagenet prince who is sent to become prioress at a nunnery in England. In this story Marie eventually becomes abbess of the nunnery and her own skills, charisma and pride lead her to make a success of this nunnery against all the odds. I enjoyed parts of the story but did not find the characters particularly well drawn. Convent life is described in minute detail and I found the detail overtook the narrative so that there was, for me, little to hold my interest. Given the book allegedly concerns the poet Marie de France I would have liked to have read her poetry interwoven with the story whereas it only gets a brief mention towards the start of the novel. Real historical characters and events are mentioned in the story, particularly Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Crusades, but not enough to really give a flavour of the times. Overall this was not a book that excited me the way I had hoped. My thanks to the publisher via Net Galley for a complimentary ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

I thought I was going to delve right in and become immersed in this book as the storyline is captivating and strong. However, I didn’t enjoy the writing style as I felt it was ‘narrated’, which created a distance with the characters making it difficult for me to connect with them.

Marie de France related by blood, via an act of violence, to the royal family in twelfth-century England is unmarriageable. Tall & unattractive, when her mother dies, she is sent to England, & banished to a poverty-stricken abbey to be their Prioress. Over time, Marie rises from Prioress to Abbess & brings the abbey wealth & prosperity, but through it all she nurses her secret love for Queen Eleanor who treats her with scorn.

This starts off so well. I read the first couple of chapters & thought that this was going to be one of those books that looks unassuming but delivers. Unfortunately I found that it soon went downhill for me. It seemed to be more & more of the same: Marie receives a vision, commences building work, the other nuns grumble but do the work, money pours in etc. I looked up the history of the real Marie, & not much is known & this could have been so much better.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK Cornerstone/Heinemann Hutchinson, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

It’s 12th century England and Marie is cast out from court to live as the Prioress of an abbey in decline. She’s large and ugly, and her arrival initially causes a stir until she becomes accepted and respected by her fellow Nuns and those outside the Abbey’s walls.

The book traces her journey from her arrival in the abbey at 17, through to her death. Told in the third person, we get insights into the relationships between the Nun’s and the threat of outside interference, particularly from the crown.

However, it just didn’t work for me. The third person style meant I felt disconnected emotionally from the characters, and whilst I appreciated the feminist undertones, it didn’t really go anywhere. There was no umph and for a relatively short book it took me ages to get through.

This is a decent read but the rather clipped writing meant I enjoyed it less that I hoped I would. I have learnt stuff. I admired Marie at the same time as finding her arrogant. I wish my Kindle version had some author notes to illustrate her research and inspiration.

From the off, Lauren Groff’s writing hooked me and I was beguiled by this world bearing ‘the weariness of Lent’. I have an unexplained fascination with convents and convent life and so I’m a sucker for convent tales. This is set as the twelfth century turns into the thirteenth and its world is vivid and full of interesting people. Lauren Groff has a real skill in assembling a fully rounded supporting cast. Aside from the story and characters being absorbing, the writing is beautiful; I bookmarked so many sentences or passages to return to and savour.
Marie is easy to admire. Despite her youth she has a formidable intellect and has been well educated. Cast an unfortunate lot, she rolls up her sleeves and gets stuck in, displaying competency in spades. This isn’t a gentle life only of prayer and silence, it’s cold and hard and filled with work to provide food, to maintain the convent and to protect it against outsiders. Marie has no vocation, but her faith grows ‘ever more bent into its geometry until it [is] its own, angular, majestic thing’. Her spiritual awakening, when it does arrive, is described powerfully: she sees a song in waves made visible, expanding and flying, rising into the nuns.
I enjoyed The Corner that Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner but Matrix is a cut above – for me on a par with Sarah Dunant’s Sacred Hearts for creating a detailed and believable world populated by characters that feel like genuine people, as far as it’s possible to ascertain that for stories set so long ago. It took me a while to twig the meaning of the title. Yes, a network, a community, but here the matrix is above all the mother of the house. This is a book I’m sure I’ll return to.

Lovely prose but not much pace or momentum in the storytelling. Nice to have an administrator as a protagonist though!

Based very loosely on the real-life poet Marie de France, about whom little is known, Groff has created an unforgettable heroine in the figure of Marie, of royal blood but illegitimate, who is exiled from the French court and sent to a remote impoverished convent as prioress. Her innate intelligence and leadership skills transform the abbey into a rich and flourishing enterprise, of which she becomes the visionary leader beloved by the whole community. This modern reimagining of a 12th century convent is a remarkable evocation of 12th century life. These nuns work hard for a living and can turn their hands to just about anything – including building a bridge at one point. The portrait of their daily lives is fascinating – and illuminating. Although feminism is a modern construct, it is evident in the author’s approach to her subject, particularly in her descriptions of sexuality and female desire, but it never feels anachronistic. These nuns are no shrinking virgins tucked away in an enclosed order. They are feisty, clever and inventive, and Marie herself embodies qualities of leadership and ambition usually thought of as alien to religious life. It’s an original and often surprising narrative, one which I found totally compelling and intriguing. Twelfth century life with a contemporary twist. These women come alive on the page in all their complexity and the book is an extraordinary glimpse into a world long gone.

There was lots to like about Matrix: in particular I thought the disdainful writing about dismal Angleterre in comparison to elegant France was really funny and well-done, and despite being set many centuries ago it felt pretty relevant for today. I also loved the ingenuity of the setting - medieval nuns didn't sound particularly feminist to me, but it really worked!

Sadly for me, this didn't live up to the brilliance of Lauren Groff's other work - I read it because I LOVED Fates and Furies, and this was lacking that sparkle.

I loved the opening chapters of this book so much, and I didn't feel like the rest of it quite managed to live up to that promise, but it was still fantastic. The writing was beautiful, and the story itself reminded me very much of Circe, which is one of my favourite books of all time. It won't suit everybody, but it's definitely going to be some readers' absolute favourite.

Peculiar, melancholic, strangly addictive, feminist, spiritual, carnal, earthy, fantastical, dreamy...just a few words to describe this memorable book.

The writing style matches it, because it breaks the rules and feels 'different'. It's well done, even though I sometimes wondered if it felt artsy pretentious or sincerely beautiful. I haven't read anything else by this author so I'm not sure yet what to think. I went back and forth from 4 stars to 5 stars and in the end I just felt that hey I wish I could write like this...this utterly gorgeous and puzzling tale which is both historical fiction and fantasy. The depths of imagination required, the prose lyrical and both emotional and detached. Chapeau!

ARC provided by NetGalley

Matrix is an important book: an awakening, a woman coming into their own power. It is that much more impressive for happening in mediaeval times. Marie De France has been cast out of the Royal Court as a threat. She is too tall and too intelligent. Instead of disappearing, Marie turns the Abbey she is sent to into a seat of power and influence to rival any in the world.

The writing style really wasn't for me and I just couldn't; get into the narrative. It was just too stilted and unnatural for me to be able to get into.

Things I love; historical fiction based around real people and events. Things this book did; included real people, events and gave us an identity for the non de plume that was Marie de France. In short, Marie de France is rumoured to be a few Marie's of the 12th century; In Matrix, Lauren Groff has envisioned her as the the illegitimate sister of Henry II of England, Mary, who went on to become Abbess of Shaftesbury.

Matrix begins just as Marie has been expelled from court by Henry's wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. She is uncouth, unable to be married off, and so the only logical solution is of course, to fob her off to a nunnery - obviously! It's not an easy ride for Marie and despite not fitting in at court, neither does she fit in with the nuns at first.

Things I liked;
- The writing style was new territory for me; long, winding sentences that you would be hard pushed to read aloud without taking a breath - but it's beautiful. Groff's use of modern and antiquated language is both challenging and lyrical.
- Marie. Marie is a force to be reckoned with, and she breathes life in to all those she meets, whether that is fuelled by their love or hatred of her. She is thoroughly imperfect. Her character is unyielding, ferocious and morally grey.
- The education I received whilst reading this. I am a sucker for looking up terms or historical events I'm more than a little hazy on.
- All of the nuns. Every. Damn. One.

Things I didn't like;
- The first half was definitely my favourite; the second half, whilst still very good felt like it wound down rather than amped up which you would expect in the latter half of a novel.

Read for:
- Character over Plot - ie, Circe, Eleanor Oliphant, To Kill a Mockingbird
- Strong female characters.
- Historical queer representation.
- Beautiful prose

Will I reread? Yes. Can't wait to get my hands on an actual physical copy. Thanks Netgalley & Randomhouse for this ARC.

I did enjoy the first half of the book but my interest waned as it went on. It was well written and had strong characters. The story was quite complex all about being a woman and relationships. I would recommend it for people who enjoy historical fiction.

Fictionalisation of the life of twelfth-century Marie de France. A coarse and awkward girl is banished from the French Court by Eleanor of Aquitaine and ends up turning around the fortunes of an English abbey.

Groff sprinkles archaic words over her contemporary prose to good effect. This account of bullying machismo, fake-news, rumourmongering and distrust of successful women is just as relevant in the Trump/post-Trump era as the mediaeval.

The slender plot fails to carry the reader forward. The present tense and terse, elliptical sentences are wearing.

Thought-provoking, not riveting.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone.

An absolutely extraordinary book. I came to Matrix knowing nothing about it, except that I’d read and adored both Fates & Furies and Florida, but the first few pages made me wonder if my Kindle had downloaded the wrong file by accident. Lauren Groff’s normally associated with contemporary fiction, yet this book is set in 14th century France and England following seventeen-year-old Marie de France, an ungainly outcast whose blood connection with the throne sees her banished by Eleanor of Acquitaine to spend her life running a failing convent in a backwater.

Marie shuts the unfriendly world out, heartbroken by the cruel loss of her lovers at court, and over time, thanks to her furious ambition and childhood experiences with the powerful, confident women of her family – she turns the convent’s fortunes around, attracting novices from far and wide, and it soon seems there is nothing that these women cannot accomplish when freed from the expectations of society and physical burden of child-rearing. As Marie observes at one point early in her training, “women in this world are vulnerable: only reputation can keep them from being crushed” – so she builds a psychological fortress around her nuns in addition to the physical barrier of an impenetrable labyrinth, which helps to keeps the world at bay. But with success comes greedy eyes and their associated dangers: can the sisters reach too far, and can they remain an island forever? A magnificently adventurous tale of love – both spiritual and secular – passion, community and devotion that will leave you wondering at Lauren Groff’s stunning talent and creative vision, and where we might find a similar community to move to...

Featured in the September issue of Cambridge Edition Magazine – https://online.bright-publishing.com/view/409150483/27/ thanks to #NetGalley for the advance copy!