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Matrix

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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Matrix

By: Lauren Groff
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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NOW AVAILABLE TO PREORDER: the new historical novel from the bestselling author of Fates and Furies

'Luminous, divine, her masterpiece' DAISY JOHNSON

'An audacious piece of storytelling, full of passion, wisdom and magic' SARAH WATERS

'Lauren Groff is a virtuoso' EMILY ST JOHN MANDEL

'How mesmerising can twelfth century nuns be, even in the hands of Lauren Groff? I had barely started it before I was bloody well blaspheming with delight. Matrix is a gorgeous, sensual, addictive read' SARA COLLINS
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Seventeen-year-old Marie, too wild for courtly life, is thrown to the dogs one winter morning, expelled from the royal court to become the prioress of an abbey. Marie is strange - tall, a giantess, her elbows and knees stick out, ungainly.

At first taken aback by life at the abbey, Marie finds purpose and passion among her mercurial sisters. Yet she deeply misses her secret lover Cecily and queen Eleanor.

Born last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, women who flew across the countryside with their sword fighting and dagger work, Marie decides to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects. She will bring herself, and her sisters, out of the darkness, into riches and power.

MATRIX is a bold vision of female love, devotion and desire from one of the most adventurous writers at work today.
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'A thrillingly vivid, adventurous story about women and power that will blow readers' minds. Left me gasping.' EMMA DONOGHUE

'Both epic and intimate, this sweeping novel explores questions of female ambition, creativity and passion with electrifying prose and sparkling wit. A propulsive, captivating read' BRIT BENNETT

Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Medieval Romance Women's Fiction Royalty Middle Ages

Critic Reviews

Visionary leader, queer lover, 12th-century writer ... the life of Marie de France is triumphantly reimagined in an assertively modern novel about female ambition and creativity... a highly distinctive novel of great vigour and boldness. From mystical visions that may or may not be divine, to the earthy business of abbey pigs, diseases and account books, Groff does it all with purpose and panache
Groff's writing is muscular and precise, her themes wildly resonant. Women are dismissed and contained, subject to misogynist attacks and abuse, but gain power collectively - "alone, together". Shockingly, this message is as poignant today as it was, perhaps, 800 years ago
A dazzlingly clever tale . . . gorgeously precise prose, always elegantly weighted and perfectly economical
Pitch-perfect
This is a remarkable novel: unusual, profound, transcendental
It's a breathtaking novel
A thrillingly vivid, adventurous story about women and power that will blow readers' minds. Left me gasping. (Emma Donoghue)
Fascinating, beguiling, vivid (Marian Keyes on Twitter)
Luminous, divine, her masterpiece (Daisy Johnson)
An audacious piece of storytelling, full of passion, wisdom and magic (Sarah Waters)
All stars
Most relevant
The general history of nuns in the middle ages is interesting. However I did not find much else to keep my attention, which is a pity because the artfully crafted prose made for pleasant listening.

Historically interesting

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However, they read it I listened!!
The reader made this book come alive!
Superb reading, can’t say how much I loved listening to this reader, it was like poetry. Her character voices, pitch, cadence and inflection made this book incredible to listen to. Thank you!

Not everyone at bookclub enjoyed it…

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Within the words and throughout the telling of the recreated lives and story of ‘Matrix’, the readers and listeners are drawn into many private and fascinating worlds of time and places of medieval Angleterre and France of the 12th Century. Entwined in their lives from the Royal court to the island Abbey, is its reconstruction, deepening community of nuns and their individual characters, sublime singing and devastating experiences and the burgeoning power of one woman, who can claim a life well-lived.
The language of the storytelling is exquisite, tracing the visual descriptions of the lands in poetic beauty and the voices of the nuns and sundry characters in accent and, often, rye humour. It is here that Lauren Goff’s words are given the clarity of many human voices in Adjoa Adoh’s performed reading of the book itself. An excellent and inspired production!
Thank you for a marvellous experience of medieval Life!

Lauren Geoff & Adjoa Andoh recreate a stunning medieval experience!

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Superb reading by Adjoa Andoh, and a great story. I enjoyed the protagonists changing interpretations of life over time.

excellent

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Did not get far with this, while the writing is beautiful the reader was so extra the whole time I found it unbearable to listen to her.

Reader unbearable

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