Secrets

The incredible story of Agnes of Bohemia

What led the educated girl full of life, the daughter of the Czech King Přemysl Otakar I, whose hand was asked by the Emperor himself, to decide to give up worldly power, carnal love and become a nun?

The story that The Secret tells is based on the surviving historical facts. It looks at the 13th century as a period of conflicting currents of power and spirituality, with Agnes at its centre: first as a lonely child wandering the courts of Europe, later as a girl with her head muddled by chivalric myths, betrayed yet longing for love and fulfilment - but also a girl aware of her own responsibility - to her family and country. Perhaps her life held secrets that Christian legends would not allow to be told.

In the search for the truth about the girl who still holds a protective hand over the Bohemian land from the depths of the 13th century, images of creatures of the woods, demons present in Gothic temples and the magical thinking of medieval tales have entered the narrative - even though Anežka's legends are silent about them.

The book won the prestigious Magnesia Litera 2021 award in the DILIA Litera category for debut of the year.