Rapture: A fierce, feminist, sexy retelling of the life of the first and only female pope

Emily Maguire

⭐ Longlisted for the Stella Prize

⭐ Shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year award
'A complex heroine who wrestles with the demands of faith, lust and ambition... A forceful wonder'
The Times, Historical Fiction Book of the Month

'A gripping, gorgeous story of faith and feminism... A rapturous read'
Daily Mail

'Mesmerising from beginning to end'
Glamour

'A spectacular story of shape-shifting, love and faith . . . It enthralled me'
Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist and The House of Fortune

'Astonishing . . . a scorching vision of a book'
Charlotte Wood, Booker-shortlisted author of Stone Yard Devotional

'A fierce, sexy, heady maelstrom of a book. It sucked me in from the first page'
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies


The legend is only the beginning . . .

Ninth-century Mainz, in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire.

Agnes is the motherless child of an English priest - a wild and brilliant girl. But when tragedy strikes, she is forced to choose between what is expected of her and the freedom she has always dreamed of. Adopting a bold disguise, she secures a place at the revered Fulda monastery and begins life anew as John the Englishman.


A matchless scholar and celebrated teacher, by her middle years she has dazzled the Church hierarchy in Rome, finding herself at the centre of power and intrigue. But in a city where gossip is currency, a secret like hers is dangerous. And when the only person who knows her true identity arrives in Rome, she will risk everything to be known - and loved.

More praise for Rapture
'All the hallmarks of a great thriller - such tension - mixed with the quiet, confident beauty of Agnes' voice - her fury and her love'
Evie Wyld, author of The Echoes

'Bold and unexpected, Rapture buzzes with life and energy . . . Extraordinary'
Rosanna Pike, instant Sunday Times bestselling author of A Little Trickerie

'Emily Maguire has created an earthy, visceral, and sensual tale, full of devotion, intrigue and passion . . . A stunning novel'
Victoria MacKenzie, award-winning author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain


A note from the author
'Rapture is inspired by a thousand year-old story about a clever girl who dresses as a man to follow her lover to a monastery where she becomes a brilliant scholar and teacher, and eventually ends up - still in careful disguise - the most powerful person in Rome.

I feel like this is the book I've been working towards for my whole writing life. The story of an ambitious woman in a world where women are supposed to be modest. A woman whose mind refuses to accept a small life, and whose body is reviled while remaining, for her, a source of great joy. A woman, who, like so many oppressed people throughout history, finds a way to subvert and resist. To be who she is without permission or approval.

In Rapture this legendary, much-argued over figure is a flesh-and-blood woman of ingenuity, purpose and passion. Her name is Agnes, and I'm excited for you to meet her.'