Matrix by Lauren Groff, Penguin

It is 1158 and Marie,17, is tossed out of Westminster royal court by Queen Eleanor and sent to an impoverished Abbey as prioress. Marie is deep-voiced, with massive hands. “Anyone could see she was meant for virginity,” says the Queen cruelly. This is a ribald tale – secret lusts among nuns – but it’s foremost a feminist trailblazer. Former child crusader Marie soon galvanises the slovenly set-up. She rides out solo to get unpaid Abbey estate rents, ceases the system of novices given tasks they are no good at for humility, assigning work they excel at! In her scriptorium the nuns charge much less than the monks. As Abbess she has a vision of Mary telling her to build a labyrinth in the woods, “to protect her daughters from worldly influence”. Triumphant.