Burned at stake for her beliefs, 16th century woman subject of new book by awarding-winning Oklahoma author Rilla Askew

Anne Askew endured incredible hate for being a woman who thought independently about her beliefs and was ultimately burned at the stake. Now, award-winning Oklahoma author Rilla Askew has written Anne’s story in a new historical novel entitled “Prize for the Fire.”

The Oklahoma author and University of Oklahoma associate professor of English recently signed books at Full Circle Bookstore, www.fullcirclebooks.com.

“Anne Askew is a real person, a young Englishwoman who was burned at the stake in 1546, the last year of Henry VIII’s reign,” Askew said. “She was a writer, an independent thinker, a woman of passionate faith and persistence. She defied the Tudor patriarchy, stood fast in her beliefs, and paid a high price for both. All these elements make her a fascinating character, but there are also parallels between Anne’s story and women’s lives today. So, although it’s a carefully researched historical novel, ‘Prize for the Fire’ also speaks to our current era.”

For the last 20 years, Askew has worked on-and-off on this novel. One might wonder if the author is related to her subject, but Askew said she is unaware of any relation.

Askew explained, “I became interested in Anne’s story because we share the same last name, but as I began to learn more about her, it was Anne Askew herself who inspired me to keep going. I read the account of her trials in ‘The Examinations of Anne Askew,’ learned that she sought a divorce from her abusive husband, moved to London, took back her own name, did so many things

women were not allowed to do in Tudor England.”

Anne was one of the first female writers to compose in the English language. Askew portrays this significant historical figure by blending history and imagination.

“In the Tudor era, women’s lives were completely circumscribed by religion, social hierarchy, fathers, husbands, all the trappings of patriarchy and it was directly because of these forces that Anne suffered,” Askew continued, “When so many men tried to contain her and could not, they destroyed her. Telling Anne’s story in a way that’s compelling for readers who don’t know her, and historically satisfying for readers who do, became my dominant purpose.”

Dana Meister, Full Circle Bookstore General Manager said, “Stories of women with such courage should be shouted from the rooftops! Under Askew’s talented storytelling, the tale of Anne Askew will take on new meaning and importance for people who have never heard of her before.”

Askew has held book signings for all of her books at Full Circle Bookstore and said she was delighted to be back for another. n