Is The Anchoress Based On A True Story?

‘The Anchoress’ isn’t a true story in the strictest sense, but it’s steeped in historical reality. Cadwallader takes this obscure medieval practice—women being enclosed for life—and spins a tale that feels both fantastical and painfully human. I stumbled across references to real anchoresses afterward, like the famous Julian of Norwich, and was struck by how faithfully the book mirrors their lives. The protagonist’s struggles with faith, loneliness, and even the physical toll of confinement are drawn from accounts of actual women. It’s fiction, but the kind that makes you Google things mid-read because the details are so compelling. That blend of imagination and history is what makes it unforgettable.

Reading 'The Anchoress' felt like uncovering a secret slice of history. While the main character, Sarah, is fictional, the world around her is meticulously crafted from real medieval practices. I’d never heard of anchoresses before this book—women who voluntarily let themselves be sealed into tiny cells to devote their lives to prayer. The idea sounds almost mythical, but Cadwallader’s research shows how common it actually was. She pulls from records of real anchoresses, like Julian of Norwich, to shape Sarah’s daily routines and the societal pressures she faces. The line between fact and fiction gets deliciously fuzzy here.

What I loved most was how the novel doesn’t just dwell on the piety; it digs into the grit of survival. Sarah’s cell isn’t some romantic hideaway—it’s cold, claustrophobic, and fraught with political intrigue from the villagers outside. The book made me question how much of ‘devotion’ was genuine choice and how much was the only option for women in that era. If you enjoy historical fiction that’s more about the messy human experience than textbook accuracy, this one’s a winner. It’s stayed with me longer than I expected.

I picked up 'The Anchoress' on a whim after seeing it recommended in a historical fiction forum, and wow, did it leave an impression! The novel follows a young woman in medieval England who chooses to live as an anchoress—literally walled into a cell attached to a church. While the story isn’t directly based on one specific historical figure, it’s deeply rooted in real practices of the time. Author Robyn Cadwallader poured loads of research into the religious and social norms of the 13th century, especially the lives of women who took up this extreme form of devotion. The details feel so authentic, from the rituals to the suffocating expectations placed on women. It’s one of those books that blurs the line between fiction and history because the setting and conflicts are so vividly real.

What stuck with me, though, was how Cadwallader uses this obscure historical practice to explore themes we still grapple with today: autonomy, faith, and the pressure to conform. The protagonist’s struggles—whether with her own doubts or the villagers projecting their needs onto her—echo modern tensions about identity and purpose. If you’re into historical fiction that makes the past feel alive without being a dry biography, this is a gem. Plus, it sent me down a rabbit hole about medieval anchorites—turns out there were way more of them than I’d ever guessed!