Some reader reviews
Alastair Mabbot, The Herald
Rivett does an excellent job of putting us inside Morag's head, to the point that we start to feel we know her intimately. A positive portrayal of a Christian community clinging to its pagan origins, contrasting it sharply with a bureaucratic, patriarchal church intent on standardising and regulating worship across the world.
Rivett does an excellent job of putting us inside Morag's head, to the point that we start to feel we know her intimately. A positive portrayal of a Christian community clinging to its pagan origins, contrasting it sharply with a bureaucratic, patriarchal church intent on standardising and regulati...
Read moreSusie Helme, Historical Novel Society
Beautifully written and evocative of the culture of the time, no anachronistic language intrudes. This is a misty, green world, where the Otherworld of the Sidhe is not so distant from life among the living. Rivett understands the tight relationship of the peasants to the land and the seasons and their religious ideas and practices.
Beautifully written and evocative of the culture of the time, no anachronistic language intrudes. This is a misty, green world, where the Otherworld of the Sidhe is not so distant from life among the living. Rivett understands the tight relationship of the peasants to the land and the seasons and t...
Read moreBro Daniel, OSB, Pluscarden Benedictines magazine
This novel evokes a profound sense of the beauty of place and the community bound to that place. The reader is drawn in and, in a way, joins the characters on their journey. If the setting is a putative thousand years in the past, the underlying themes are contemporary. Modern counter-cultural aspirations run alongside questions about the relationship of religion and society, of evangelisation and enculturation. The Priest’s Wife allows the reader space to meditate on these and other themes, without forcing conclusions. A welcome addition to Christian fantasy literature, in which it easily holds its own.
This novel evokes a profound sense of the beauty of place and the community bound to that place. The reader is drawn in and, in a way, joins the characters on their journey. If the setting is a putative thousand years in the past, the underlying themes are contemporary. Modern counter-cultural aspi...
Read moreBlueInk Review
Rivett has a deep appreciation for the northern Scotland landscape, and skilfully evokes its beauty while also recognizing how its harshness would have impacted people 1,000 years ago. The author successfully captures the cadence of Celtic speech.
Sharon Rimmelswaan, Beyond the Books blog
A skilfully written story of one woman and her journey to discover herself. The characters are well fleshed-out. The way the author weaves religion into the novel makes it a layered and interesting read and the exploration of mental health is sensitively handled.
Madeleine MaGlynn, maddiereadsherstory blog
Unique in its voice. Warm and personal and very gentle. It's a slow burner, yet has a sense of pace and purpose, and always pitches up some new, unexpected twist.
Shirley Barr, Forres
The Priest's Wife was all I had hoped for, and more. The isle and the island-life of the community of people so beautifully imagined by A. G. Rivett in The Seaborne, continues to draw me in. Morag is magnificent. Watching her story unfold was a gift. I await the final book in the trilogy with great anticipation.
The Priest's Wife was all I had hoped for, and more. The isle and the island-life of the community of people so beautifully imagined by A. G. Rivett in The Seaborne, continues to draw me in. Morag is magnificent. Watching her story unfold was a gift. I await the final book in the trilogy with great...
Read moreBenedict Thwaite, Lampeter
Another beautiful and sensitively-written narrative by A.G. Rivett. This book will strike a resonant chord with modern-feminist readers and, in a post-Christian society, those interested in alternative ancient faith traditions.
Kate Porteus
I found reading The Priestʼs Wife an absorbing experience, and an interesting development from Vol 1, The Seaborne.
As the widow of a priest myself, there was much to resonate with…..despite my experience being in the twenty first century! The tussles between different approaches to Christianity are still ongoing, and the shifting balance between a Masculine and Feminine perspective continues……. Our culture may have changed radically since the era of which A G Rivett writes, but many of the underlying issues remain.
I particularly enjoyed the exploration of the Inner journey of the Priestʼs wife. And how she came to stand in her own light and wisdom. I feel that is a journey we all need to take in learning to become Inner rather than Outer directed.
I found reading The Priestʼs Wife an absorbing experience, and an interesting development from Vol 1, The Seaborne.
As the widow of a priest myself, there was much to resonate with…..despite my experience being in the twenty first century! The tussles between different approaches to Christianit...
Read moreKatharina Kroeber, Forres
Both books of the Isle Fincara Trilogy want to be read several times: first as a good yarn, a page turner, books for staying up all night to find out what happens next. Then, as a story from the oral tradition, for reading aloud and slowing down into the deep breath of the story, into the fabric of time and place. In the third reading, ask questions of the book, and find answers from the different characters for our time, our lives, and our world.
Both books of the Isle Fincara Trilogy want to be read several times: first as a good yarn, a page turner, books for staying up all night to find out what happens next. Then, as a story from the oral tradition, for reading aloud and slowing down into the deep breath of the story, into the fabric of...
Read moreGelda MacGregor, Forres
Perhaps this intense spiritual search for the divine feminine is the aspect of the book which would connect us, in the 21st century, most easily with the Isle Fincara characters. This is a personal search which still continues for many of us today.
Cornelia Featherstone and Sylvia Roberts, Findhorn
We have the delicious habit of reading books out aloud to each other and just finished The Priest's Wife. What a treat! We enjoyed the glimpses of how a strong woman in difficult circumstances finds her place and power within a very patriarchal society, how a holistic spirituality interacts with a restrictive religion. The characters in the book are described with a nuance that moves the reader beyond 'good and bad' and allows a common humanity to be seen, even in 'villains'. We loved it! Can't wait to read another story from the Isle Fincara.
We have the delicious habit of reading books out aloud to each other and just finished The Priest's Wife. What a treat! We enjoyed the glimpses of how a strong woman in difficult circumstances finds her place and power within a very patriarchal society, how a holistic spirituality interacts with a ...
Read moreAnn Veronica Watkins, Lampeter
I enjoyed The Seaborne and longed for the second part of the trilogy, The Priest’s Wife. When it came, I was not disappointed. The glossary of names and occasional reference (without repetition) to the first book enabled me to pick-up, from where I left-off with ease. I found myself going to bed ridiculously early to discover what happened next to the bereaved and role-less priest’s wife.
I enjoyed The Seaborne and longed for the second part of the trilogy, The Priest’s Wife. When it came, I was not disappointed. The glossary of names and occasional reference (without repetition) to the first book enabled me to pick-up, from where I left-off with ease. I found myself going to bed r...
Read moreChrisanthe Georgiou, Forres
How good it was to read this thought provoking and timeless tale that celebrates both the importance of community and power of faith – so relevant in today’s challenging times.
Kevin on Good Reads
The Priest's Wife" investigates the profound themes of identity, faith, and transformation. A G Rivett's storytelling is rather remarkable, and the narrative's emotional resonance will leave an impression on readers. This is a novel that touches the soul and also invites introspection into the intricate webbing of our own lives.
The Priest's Wife" investigates the profound themes of identity, faith, and transformation. A G Rivett's storytelling is rather remarkable, and the narrative's emotional resonance will leave an impression on readers. This is a novel that touches the soul and also invites introspection into the intr...
Read moreAnn Barr, Forres
I was transported into a magical alternative reality. Captivated by the characters, the landscape, the Celtic spirituality and the thought-provoking situations. There are some similarities to be drawn with our present troubled and confused times and much food for thought.
Romany Buck, Forres
A tour de force! Poignant and sensitively told, A G Rivett's wide vision and inherent knowing gives birth to a book that expresses deep truth about the significance of our times. A book to encourage those who teeter on the brink of claiming their place within the whole.
THE PRIEST'S WIFE
The pass of the sea
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