Bookseller Reviews
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A slice of life in the Middle Ages.
An illegitimate child of royal blood Marie of France was banished from the royal court and sent to live as a prioress in a poverty stricken abbey in Englan... READ MORE
A truly exciting story that explores feminity and gender roles in medieval times.
Like Annie Garthwaite's recently published "Cecily" which offers a rendering of the life of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, Matrix re-tells a part of medi... READ MORE
One of the best novels of the 21st Century. Inspirational Female Leadership.
This is a perfect novel. Books like this come along once in a blue moon and I am still reeling from Groff's utterly transportive ability to place the reade... READ MORE
Fire
I loved this book. Makes a dire, miserable slice of history genuinely fun and compelling. Compiling so many folktales about Marie Le France into one megawo... READ MORE
Fiery Devotion
Marie de France does not quite fit in with the other women at court. Raised by fierce warrior women, she is wild, course and unfeminine in her largeness. Y... READ MORE
Stunning
Marie is a royal bastard whose early life has been spent crusading with her warrior mother and aunts. When her mother dies she leaves instructions for Mari... READ MORE
Sisters are doing it for themselves
Set in the 12th Century, this is a vivid and atmospheric retelling of the life of Marie de France, an unconventional young woman, who is sent from court to... READ MORE
Vibrant, pensive, and moving read
Groff tells a fascinating story of Marie de France and her life as prioress of an abbey; it is a thoughtful read that presents ambitious women, power strug... READ MORE
Stunning
An absolute gem of a book!
When this book first released, I was intrigued by the cover but the plot didn’t appeal at the time. Now that it’s out in paper... READ MORE
Synopsis
Meet the indomitable Marie de France.
Born from a long line of female warriors and crusaders, yet too coarse, too wild, too rough-hewn for courtly life, Marie de France is cast from the royal court. Woefully, she is sent to the muddy fields of Angleterre to take up her new duty as the prioress of an impoverished abbey.
The abbey is a dreadful place: its inhabitants are on the brink of starvation, beset by disease, stoic and stern, yet plagued with an unholy tendency to gossip. Marie cannot help but pine for the decadence and comfort of France; her secret lover Cecily, her queen Eleanor, and the very court that had spited her.
Yet Marie soon realises that, though she may be tied to a life of duty, she wields more power than she could have imagined. With the fearlessness that has always set her apart, she inspires her new sisterhood to awaken their spirits and finally claim what is theirs.A dazzling work of literature, Matrix gathers currents of violence, sensuality and ecstasy in a mesmerising portrait of consuming passion and womanhood.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Cornerstone
- ISBN: 9781785151903
- Number of pages: 272
- Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 27 mm
- Weight: 480g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allA multi-layered historical fiction
Matrix is a novel inspired by Marie de France, considered to be the first woman to write poetry in French, but a woman about whose life very little is know... READ MORE
A moving and deeply thought provoking book
There is an almost ethereal quality in the writing here - it draws the reader into almost a dream world peopled with finely drawn characters and settings, ... READ MORE
Great
I liked how this told the story of Marie from her teen years to the end of her life. This was drama-filled and action-packed. I really loved the writing an... READ MORE
Disappointing - did not finish
I was sent a copy of Matrix by Lauren Groff to read and review by NetGalley. I’m afraid I did not finish this book. I got about a third of the way throug... READ MORE
Engrossing
The unusual setting of a convent in the 12th century provides a fascinating backdrop to the story of the remarkable Abbess Marie. An historical look at fem... READ MORE
Novel set in 12th Century ENGLANd
This is a deep immersion into the medieval era, well researched, credible and very atmospheric. Marie is the illegitimate child of royalty – in fact the ha... READ MORE
Marie is formidable
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 con... READ MORE
A glimpse into life at a 12th century abbey
Matrix by Lauren Groff tells the life story of Marie de France who is kicked out of the 12th century French court of her half brother and deposited, as a p... READ MORE
Wonderful book
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 ... READ MORE
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 spr... READ MORE
Intriguing historical fiction
Matrix is an interesting book set in a 12th century Abbey and inspired by Marie of France who was forced to lead there by the Queen. This isn't going to be... READ MORE
Rather pedestrian
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy.
Very loosely based on the character of the 12th century mystic Marie de France, t... READ MORE
A diatribe of dull madness
This is the worst book I’ve read this year (on par with a similarly awful book come join our disease) and up there with the worst books I’ve ever read. It ... READ MORE
A fascinating historical novel
By coincidence, this is the second book in a row I’ve read which features the lives of women confined, initially against their will, in a convent. The firs... READ MORE
powerful women - tough times
Matrix is a novel inspired by Marie de France. As is often the case with the focus in historical novels, little is known about her life. Banished as a bast... READ MORE
A lyrically written book of female power
Historical fiction is rarely as powerful as this novel of a remarkable woman, an abbey and a life that draws its depths from visions and love. In a near po... READ MORE
Disappointing
I feel like I've missed out on something because I didn't enjoy this book at all, after being excited by the glowing reviews! I persevered and finished it ... READ MORE
Twelfth century feminism
Marie, a giant ungainly girl born after a Plantagenet assault on her teenage mother, is unwillingly sent away from court to be the prioress of an impoveris... READ MORE
ARC
Born from a long line of female warriors and crusaders, yet too coarse, too wild, too rough-hewn for 12th-century courtly life, Marie de France is cast fro... READ MORE
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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 n... READ MORE
Richly written
Loosely based on the life of twelfth-century abbess Marie de France, this is a richly written novel with the power of women at its heart. It spans Marie's ... READ MORE
The novel is very well written
Lauren Groff's 'Matrix' tells the story of seventeen-year-old Marie, who is expelled from the royal court by Queen Eleanor to become the prioress of an ab... READ MORE
immersive and authentic depicting a powerful women of the 12th century
Matrix is a novel inspired by Marie de France. As is often the case with the focus in historical novels, little is known about her life. Banished as a bast... READ MORE
Lyrical Evocative Tale
Matrix by Lauren Groff is a lyrical, evocative tale. Marie de France is 17 when she is cast out from the French Royal court and sent to become prioress of ... READ MORE
Finely drawn characters and a gently fluid plot - a wonderful book!
There is an almost ethereal quality in the writing here - it draws the reader into almost a dream world peopled with finely drawn characters and settings, ... READ MORE
An atmospheric work of literary historical fiction set in 12th Century England
She rides out of the forest alone. Seventeen years old, in the cold March drizzle, Marie who comes from France. It is 1158 …She sees for the first time the... READ MORE
Outstanding
Too wild and ugly for marriage, 17-year-old Marie is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey. Marie is determined to improve the li... READ MORE
Magical and moving
Marie is the illegitimate daughter of a wronged noblewoman. Her young life is full of the love of her extended female family, travelling on Crusade and en... READ MORE
Not my cup of tea!
I should have read the blurb more carefully. Really struggled with this although it had all the hallmarks of a book I might enjoy. Found all the 'magic' r... READ MORE
A deftly woven novel about female power in the Middle Ages
Matrix ~ late 14c., matris, matrice, "uterus, womb," from Old French matrice "womb, uterus" and directly from Latin mātrix (genitive mātricis) "pregnant an... READ MORE
Lovely book
This book was a bit difficult to read because there were words I had never seen before but once I looked them up online I didn’t have any trouble. I loved ... READ MORE
The most fascinating nun, ever!
This was a strange book, filled with visions, magic, power and love. The writing is sublime and the subject matter is utterly intriguing with a main charac... READ MORE