The Last Witch of Scotland

Vorwort
Inspired by the true story of the last person to be tried and executed as a witch in the British Isles, The Last Witch of Scotland reimagines how Janet Horne came to be accused of witchcraft.

Autorentext
PHILIP PARIS is the bestselling author of The Last Witch of Scotland, Waterstones' Scottish Book of the Year 2024 and Blackwell's Edinburgh Book of the Year 2023. His hugely varied work is often inspired by events or issues that have previously had little coverage. Men Cry Alone, a novel about domestic abuse against men, won the Scottish Association of Writers Barbara Hammond trophy in 2019, while his non-fiction book Orkney's Italian Chapel: The True Story of an Icon is recognised as the leading authoritative work on the history of the famous WW2 building.

Klappentext

WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
'Engaging and enjoyable' - THE SCOTSMAN
'Utterly compelling' - HEAT MAGAZINE
**
Being a woman was her only crime.**

**Scottish Highlands, 1727.
**
In the aftermath of a tragic fire that kills her father, Aila and her mother, Janet, move to the remote parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community.

Then arrives a motley troupe of travelling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack. It is just the distraction Janet, and particularly Aila, needs: for the first time in a long while, their lives are filling with joy and friendship, and a kind of hope Aila hasn't known since her father's death. **But in this small community, faith is more powerful than truth, and whispers more dangerous even than fire.
**
Haunting and deeply moving, The Last Witch of Scotland is a story of love, loyalty and sacrifice, inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Britain.

Perfect for fans of Outlander, The Mercies and The Witches of Vardo*,* or for anyone with an interest in the history of witchcraft, late renaissance Scotland and Highland history.

'Compelling, evocative, heart-wrenching' - FIONA VALPY, author of The Storyteller of Casablanca

'Paris's affecting novel imaginatively fills in the gaps with family tragedy, first love, a roving troupe of players, embittered neighbours, sacrifice and loss.' - THE SCOTSMAN