The Trial of Anna Thalberg - Hardcover

by Eduardo Sangarc?a (Author), Elizabeth Bryer (Translator)

Winner of the 2020 Mauricio Achar Award

Does evil lurk in the shadows of the forest or within the human heart? Eduardo Sangarc?a's tale of one woman's trial opens the door to deeper horrors.

Anna Thalberg is a villager shunned for her red hair and provocative beauty, so when she is dragged from her home and accused of witchcraft, her neighbors do not intervene. Only Klaus, her husband, and Father Friedrich, a priest experiencing a crisis of faith, set out to W?rzburg to prove her innocence. There, locked in a prison tower, Anna faces isolation and torture while anxiety builds over strange happenings within the city walls. Can the two men convince the Church inquisitors to release Anna, or will she burn at the stake?

The Trial of Anna Thalberg is a tale of religious persecution, superstition, and suffering during the Protestant Reformation. While mapping the medieval fear of occultism and demons, it delves into enduring human concerns: the oppression of women, the inhumanity of institutions, and the question of God's existence. Frantic in pace and experimental in form, this is an unforgettable debut from Mexican author Eduardo Sangarc?a.

Author Biography

Eduardo Sangarcía is the author of El desconocido del Meno (Fondo Editorial Tierra Adentro), a collection of short stories that was awarded the prestigious Premio Nacional de Cuento Joven Comala 2017. He is currently studying for a Ph.D. in Humanities with a specialization on Latin American literature of the Holocaust. He lives in Guadalajara, Mexico.