In the year 1413, two women met for the first and only time. Vastly different in personality, their deep devotion to faith made them closer than they were to ever realise with an even greater connection between them: these women were granted "shewings" by none other than God Himself. They were Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich.

Mackenzie's novella is a deep study of faith and the personal relationship that one has with their own faith.

The author writes with an enlightening narrative on the difficulties faced by 12th Century women as they are viewed as socially inferior by their male peers, their church superiors and various other authoritative roles. These are certainly topics that are much debated on close to 700 years later marking this out as a thought-provoking read.

I enjoyed the layout in perspectives from Julian to Margery acting almost as a talk and response format and while they were incredibly different women with contrasting personalities, Mackenzie was able to masterfully draw out themes that bound them together through their experiences of religion, gender, loss and love.

This novella is a powerful, poignant, fascinating and relevant tale bound to play on the mind for time to come.

Brilliant and brilliantly written, imaginative, hugely creative, revealing, informative...this is a book that lives and breathes and pulls you in from the first words. It is quite short but pulsing with life. Buy it, read it, you won't regret it. An easy five star recommendation.

What a unique, compelling, fascinating tale...I knew nothing about Julian Of Norwich before reading this. Such an interesting life, and brilliantly told.

This short book was an entertaining look at two fascinating medieval women, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. The story is based on the writing of each woman, although their meeting is necessarily fictionalised because there is no historical evidence that they actually met (although they certainly could have done).

If you enjoyed this, I can also recommend Janina Ramirez’s excellent history book Femina which gives more juicy details about Julian and Margery and many more interesting medieval ladies besides.

One of my favourite non-fiction reads of the year so far is Janina Ramírez's Femina, which was my first real exposure to the lives (and historical significance) of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. For Thy Great Pain... feels like the perfect fictional follow-up, giving voice to these two fascinating women from the Middle Ages.

Mackenzie's novella is compact and neatly structured, weaving the two women's perspectives until they finally meet. Though they are very different characters, by putting their stories side by side, Mackenzie picks out common threads that bind the two together - not just faith, but femininity, grief and the power of language.

A brief, but beautiful little book.

A short but gripping little book which I devoured in a few hours. The alternating chapters allowed both Margery and Julian to come to life in profoundly intimate ways. It is always my worry with books about religious figures that their faith will be dismissed or explained away, so the way in which the author tied their beliefs and visions to their traumas without ever questioning the validity of them to the women themselves was both an impressive feat and a relief. All in all, a really lovely book with much more weight than its tiny page count would suggest.

An astounding debut, both epic and intimate, about grief, trauma, revelation, and the hidden lives of women - by a major new talent. With a deftly drawn cast of characters, an intriguing plot and an immersive and compelling narrative, this is a one sit compulsive read.

This was a poignant and exqusitiely written book that I absolutely devoured in one sitting. It took me completely by surprise - I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did, but the prose and the powerful story of two women, faith and their life in medieval England. Highly recommend.

I loved this! A thought provoking, sensitive exploration of the lives of two remarkable medieval women. There was a respect and sensitivity to the historical facts but a clever, lyrical exploration of the two women's lives.

I adore a dual perspective novel where both perspectives feel truly distinct, and the frantic outpourings of Margery and the stolid, steadfast words of Julian work in beautiful tandem, building and weaving together as their stories draw closer and begin to entwine. Margery is a strange character, fascinating in her peculiarities and religious fervour. Julian is a quieter and introspective woman, but I was equally as compelled by her words.

The book really grabs you and pulls you back in time in a great many ways, forcing you to try and get inside the heads of these two women whose lives were both outside the norm for society at the time. Their religious visions lead them down different paths, and it's fascinating to consider what that meant for both of them and the directions their lives went at a time when women's options were so limited.

Wonderful book!

Lonely and somewhat beleaguered housewife Margery Kempe and faithful anchoress Julian of Norwich do not, on the face of it, have much in common. Julian lost almost her entire family and has spent 23 years in an isolated cell annexed to a church, while Margery has a lot of children and lives in comparative luxury with her husband. But both women are unswerving in their faith and have experienced visions from God at a time when only priests were able to talk to the almighty.

Told in parallel, these two women's different stories only converge the once, but it's significant for both of them (and history). For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain is short, but sad and sweet, and rather than offering any explanation for the origin of Julian and Margery's (in either direction) the focus is on how it affects their lives. They're portrayed as complex and interesting people, and though both stories are told in the first person there's remarkably clear characterisation of them both - Margery is a vain, self-involved person who is nevertheless unhappy and unfulfilled in her marriage in ways she can't quite articulate, whereas Julian is more contemplative, imaginative, and empathetic towards others.

Their similarities and differences, weaving in and around each other as they tell their stories, make for a

Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich were English mystics, both born in the late 14th century. While they were real people, the story told is fictional but I feel it accurately captures how their lives of deep seated faith were lived.

Margery had a family while Julian (also known as Juliana), was an anchoress, living permanently in a cell, her life totally dedicated to God.
Despite these differences in their lives, they experience similar trials and as they tell their individual stories, their strength shines through.

It is a powerful tale of how women of faith were treated during the Middle Ages, and I found it poignant to read.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

I read this in one setting and wish it had been longer! A really interesting and insightful story that shines a light on women in the Middle Ages. The voices were distinctive and I felt their sorrow, pain and hope with them.

I was aware in only the most general way of both Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. This book has been a delight to read. I must admit that at first I found the layout and the rapid switching back and forth between the two narratives jarring. But as I read on a gentle rhythm developed almost a call and response between two the two women.
This may be a work of fiction, but it completely encapsulates the deep seated faith of both Margery and Julian and the steadfast nature of both women in striving to keep their focus, in spite of their harsh treatment by the establishment, the church, and their own families. I felt as if I was with the women as they enlightened us with the details of their lives. The trials they both endured are incredibly modern and its shocking to realise that nowadays Women who seek to go into the Church and Minister are often at best ignored, at worst vilified and verbally abused or considered of no consequence and certainly not fit to preach about God. It seems sometimes that we haven’t travelled very far over almost 700 yrs. I would definitely recommended the book to anyone as a thought provoking read.

I have posted this review on Waterstones and Goodreads and will post on Amazon when able.

This book is about two fascinating women from the Middle Ages, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. Alternating first-person narratives explore their life experiences, thoughts, feelings and relationship with their faith. MacKenzie has given them each a very distinct voice, and I enjoyed getting to know them both as I read the novel and felt empathy for their different situations. I found it really interesting to see how the two different women filtered their experiences through their religion. I had not heard of either of them before reading this, and am now keen to do more research!

The pacing of the book initially confused me, with how quickly it switches perspective and the latter two sections being so much shorter than the first. However, it clearly worked for me as I read it in two sittings, intrigued to see how the story would progress - I like how the structure often creates juxtaposition between the two women and gets you to consider their similarities through highlighting their differences. Anyone who has any level of interest in the medieval period and/or remarkable women from history will find something to enjoy in this book.

The focus on this book is two remarkable women in the 1400’s and is told through both of their perspectives. The book focuses on the women’s lives and their relationship with religion and the church and well as their wider circumstances. I devoured this book in one sitting and found the voices distinct from one another and engaging. The author makes the women grounded and although they are historical characters their sufferings, both large and small, are so relatable you find yourself seeing your own problems in their narratives. Initially I found the alternative perspectives slightly jarring as they switched back and forth but this quickly faded as I got further into the book. I found it difficult to like Margery to begin with but I warmed to her immensely throughout the book and I would find myself nodding as she complained of problems with her husband and family life as I could recognise these day to day frustrations. The references to religion are thought provoking and it was very interesting how both women saw religion and the part it played in their lives.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it reminded me at times of Matrix by Lauren Groff. It’s a powerful story of the daily struggles and frustrations of medieval women which a light has only recently begun to shine on.

The book is in progress, so it’s hard to give a complete review. Some of the dialogue has been added in while better text awaits. The other text needs polishing too. I downloaded this as I loved the description, but I feel the book needs to be polished further. I can see some promise in the characters, but it’s got a lot of work to go