Hannah Kent: Biography, Books & Personal Life

There’s a particular thrill that comes from discovering a historical figure you’ve never heard of — and realizing a novelist has spent years unearthing their story. Hannah Kent, an Australian author, has made a career out of exactly that, turning little-known lives from 19th-century Iceland, Ireland, and Prussia into celebrated historical fiction. Her debut novel, Burial Rites, published in 2013, was based on the true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir — the last woman executed in Iceland — and launched Kent as one of Australia’s most distinctive literary voices. What follows is a close look at her life, her books, and what makes her storytelling so meticulous.

Novels published: 3 (Burial Rites, The Good People, Devotion) ·
Debut novel: Burial Rites (2013) ·
Nationality: Australian ·
Age at debut: 27-28 ·
Notable award: Windham-Campbell Prize (2014) ·
Genre: Historical fiction, literary fiction

Six key facts about Hannah Kent, covering her background, publishing milestones, and personal life.

What is Hannah Kent known for?

How old was Hannah Kent when she wrote Burial Rites?

• Kent was born in 1985 in Adelaide, South Australia (Reading Australia).
• Her debut novel Burial Rites was published in 2013, making her 27 or 28 years old at the time of publication (Reading Australia).
• She had won the inaugural Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2011, two years before the novel’s release (Reading Australia).

What nationality is Hannah Kent?

Kent is Australian. She lives and works on Peramangk and Kaurna Country near Adelaide, South Australia (Readings (independent bookstore and publisher)). She co-founded the Australian literary publication Kill Your Darlings and serves as its publishing director (Reading Australia).

The pattern across her career: Kent’s identity as an Australian writer is interwoven with her international settings. She doesn’t write about Australia, yet her outsider perspective on Icelandic, Irish, and Prussian histories is part of her signature approach.

Is Devotion by Hannah Kent based on a true story?

What is the inspiration for Devotion?

Devotion, published in Australia in November 2021 and in the UK and Ireland in February 2022 (Amazon author page), is inspired by the true story of a 19th-century lesbian couple. The novel is set in Prussia and Australia and explores themes of forbidden love, faith, and survival. Kent has spoken about discovering the historical correspondence between two women that formed the seed of the novel (Reading Australia).

Kent has described writing LGBTQ+ themes as a natural extension of her interest in marginalized historical voices. Her characters — like the real women who inspired them — exist at the edges of official records.

The implication: Kent’s use of historical correspondence gives Devotion a documentary-like authenticity while still allowing for narrative invention.

Is Burial Rites being made into a movie?

Who is starring in the Burial Rites movie?

Burial Rites is being adapted into a film, with Jennifer Lawrence attached to star (Reading Australia). The novel is based on the true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, who was executed in Iceland in 1830 — widely described as the last woman executed in the country (The Conversation (academic commentary platform)).

The release date for the film adaptation has not been announced. The casting of Lawrence, a major international star, signals the book’s crossover appeal from literary fiction to mainstream cinema.

The implication for readers and film fans: the movie adaptation will likely bring a surge of new attention to Kent’s body of work, particularly her lesser-known novels The Good People and Devotion.

Who is Hannah Kent’s partner?

Does Hannah Kent have a child?

Hannah Kent is married to a woman, though her wife’s name is not publicly disclosed (Reading Australia). She has one child (Reading Australia). Kent is part of the LGBTQ+ community, and her identity as a queer writer informs but does not define her literary work — she has written both queer and non-queer narratives.

The catch: while Kent is open about her family life in interviews, she maintains clear boundaries around her family’s privacy. This is consistent with many Australian authors who keep their personal lives separate from their public personas.

What Hannah Kent book is set in Ireland?

What is The Good People about?

The Good People, published in 2016, is set in 19th-century Ireland (BookBrowse). The novel is based on the true story of a disabled child in rural Ireland and explores Irish folklore and superstition — specifically the belief in “the good people” (fairies) as explanations for misfortune and disability.

The novel’s Irish setting marks Kent’s second foray into a non-Australian culture. As with Burial Rites in Iceland, she immersed herself in local archives and oral histories to reconstruct a world both foreign to her and deeply rooted in its place.

What this means: Kent’s willingness to write across national boundaries — Iceland, Ireland, Prussia — is rare among historical fiction authors, who typically build a career within a single geography. It also means each of her novels requires years of dedicated research.

Timeline of Hannah Kent’s career

Timeline signal: Kent’s career follows a steady seven-year novel cycle (2013 → 2016 → 2021), disrupted only by the 2025 memoir. This suggests her next novel could arrive around 2027–2028.

What’s confirmed and what’s unclear

Confirmed facts

• Hannah Kent is Australian (Reading Australia)
• She wrote Burial Rites, The Good People, and Devotion (Reading Australia)
• She is married to a woman and has a child (Reading Australia)
• Burial Rites is being adapted into a film with Jennifer Lawrence (Reading Australia)
• Burial Rites notably won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and the Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year (BookBrowse)

What’s unclear

• Exact name of her partner (Reading Australia)
• Child’s name and age (Reading Australia)
• Release date of Burial Rites film (Reading Australia)

“I think we have a responsibility to those who came before us. If we don’t tell their stories, who will?”

— Hannah Kent, as quoted in festival appearances (Reading Australia)

“Burial Rites is a stunning debut — a novel of fierce and haunting beauty.”

— Critical review (BookBrowse)

“I’m drawn to the silences in history — the people who left no diaries, no letters, no records of their inner lives.”

— Hannah Kent on her research process (Reading Australia)

Kent’s approach to historical fiction can be summed up as: find a forgotten life, fill the archive gap with empathy, and never fictionalize where a document exists. For Australian readers and the global audience for historical fiction, the takeaway is the same — her books succeed because the research is never cut in service of plot.

Frequently asked questions

For Australian readers who have watched Kent rise from an unpublished manuscript winner to an internationally adapted author, the implication is clear: support local literary fiction, or watch the film adaptation without having read the book.