Hannah Kent veers away from the strict historical accuracy of Burial Rites to craft Devotion, a queer romance

Hannah Kent’s first two novels were bleak explorations of historical crimes: her 2013 debut Burial Rites told the story of the last person executed in Iceland; 2016’s The Good People, steeped in Irish folklore, focused on the murder of a young child.

But the Australian author wanted to go in a…