Matrix

Historical fiction loosely inspired by the life of 12th century figure of poetess (and abbess) Marie de France.  
It's sapphic and written in a lush stream of consciousness prose using the present tense so that was a point of serious interest for me in the first place. Actually, the story is Less about the work of Marie as a writer but more about her life in the abbey.  This novel read like a religious or historical chronicle where time is compressed, and the story is a stitching of moments and scenes, the author recreating an atmosphere with a distant sort of telling that has an ethereal, dreamy almost mystical quality to it. 
The main character felt compelling in her ambition to go beyond the limits imposed on her gender by the patriarchal society, though sometimes she felt unlikeable and how she changed for the better felt too late and too rushed.  I do like how she carved a place of peace, autonomy, independence for her and the other women under her care, even if some of the actions by this group of women I disliked. 
While I liked the prose itself and the atmosphere and the dark humour, but also the depiction of everyday life in the abbey, that distance in the storytelling and the telling not showing aspect of it, I didn't really have any sort of particular affection towards the main character and her companions. 
Overall a good read but with some aspects that kept me from truly loving this, I'm still looking forward to read the other book of Lauren Groff I have on my physical tbr.