The Kings' Witches by Kate Foster

                                                      

Hardback:  326 pages

Genre:  Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Denmark

Publisher: Mantle, Pan Macmillan, 2024

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: The witch Doritte Olsen is being burned at the stake today and they're making us watch.

Review Quote: Memorable and moving, The King’s Witches is a dramatically rich and absorbing tale  LoveReading.co.uk

My Opinion:  

After my enjoyment of Kate Foster's debut novel ' The Maiden'  I was keen to read this one. Once again the author has created story based on historical events with real people in addition to fictional characters.

'The King's Witches revolves around the betrothal of King James VI of Scotland to Princess Anna of Denmark in 1589. When the ship carrying his future bride to Scotland was hit by a severe storm, it was blamed on witches. witchcraft is the catalyst for the story linking the protagonists. The most important o whom are Princess Anna, Kirsten Sorensen her loyal lady in waiting and Jura a young housemaid. The story is told in alternating chapters by them as King James becomes personally involved in the infamous North Berwick witch trials, even writing about them as he supports hunting witches and punishing them severely.

I knew very little of this period in history and as gruesome as it may be found it fascinating. Overall a compelling and extraordinary period tale that I recommend if you enjoy historical fiction based on fact.

Previous Review:  TheMaiden

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

The King’s Witches by Kate Foster is a gripping and beautiful historical novel, giving an unforgettable voice to the women at the heart of the real-life witch trials in sixteenth-century Scotland.

Women whisper secrets to each other; it is how we survive.

1589. Princess Anne of Denmark is betrothed to King James VI of Scotland – a royal union designed to forever unite the two countries. But first, she must pass the trial period: one year of marriage in which she must prove herself worthy of being Scotland's new Queen. If the King and the Scottish royal court in Edinburgh find her wanting, she faces permanent exile to a convent. Determined to fulfil her duties to King and country, Anne resolves to be the perfect royal bride. Until she meets Lord Henry.

By her side is Kirsten Sorenson, her loyal and pious lady's maid. But whilst tending to Anne's every need, she has her own secret motives for the royal marriage to be a success . . .

Meanwhile, in North Berwick, a young housemaid by the name of Jura is dreaming of a new life. She practises the healing charms taught to her by her mother, and when she realises she is no longer safe under her master’s roof, she escapes to Edinburgh. But it isn't long before she finds herself caught up in the witchcraft mania that has gripped not just the capital but the new queen . . .

Will Anne, Kirsten and Jura be able to save each other and, in doing so, save themselves?

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of Goodreads

Kate Foster has been a national newspaper journalist for over twenty years. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. The Maiden won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect 2020 prize for new writers. She lives in Edinburgh with her two children. 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Kate Foster - Amazon Profile.   Goodreads Profile       Kate Foster on Twitter

The Maiden by Kate Foster

                                                   

Hardback:  370 pages

Genre:  Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Scotland

Publisher: Mantle, Pan Macmillan, 2023

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: You are sentenced to beheading. God have mercy on your soul. Prepare yourself in prayer.

Review Quote:  'Riveting . . . the tension persists until the last page’ ― The Times

Favourite Quote: “Although I read avidly and wrote with flair, far exceeding the direction of the tutor who came to Roseburn, these assets were not considered to be as attractive as obedience or serenity or silence.”

My Opinion:  

'The Maiden' is Kate Foster's debut novel and is Historical Crime Fiction, which is not a first choice genre for me. I think this is probably the reason that it only recently caught my attention. I am glad it did and a sign of how much I enjoyed it is that her second novel, 'The Kings Witches' published earlier this month is already on my Wishlist to read.

Inspired by the true story of Christian Nimmo who was executed in Edinburgh in 1679 for the murder of her lover, who also happened to be her uncle! The author has taken the intriguing known facts of the case and woven a fascinating fictional story with a great cast of characters. none of these are confirmed in historical records apart from Christian herself and her uncle James Forrester but most definitely they are the sort of people that would have lived at the time in such a setting.

Just imagine this story in a modern day setting when thankfully women are treated differently, making this novel a great choice, in my opinion for Book Club discussions. Overall an extraordinary period tale of love and deceit that I recommend if you enjoy historical fiction based on fact.

Literary awards

Women's Prize for Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2024), Saltire Society Literary Award Nominee for Scottish First Book of the Year (2023)

Setting

Edinburgh, Scotland in 1679.

Characters

Lady Christian Nimmo, Violet Blyth, Lord James Forrester

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Inspired by a real-life case and winner of the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect Award, Kate Foster's The Maiden is a remarkable story with a feminist revisionist twist, giving a voice to women otherwise silenced by history.

"In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me."

Edinburgh, October 1679. Lady Christian Nimmo is arrested and charged with the murder of her lover, James Forrester. News of her imprisonment and subsequent trial is splashed across the broadsides, with headlines that leave little room for doubt: Adulteress. Whore. Murderess.

Only a year before, Christian was leading a life of privilege and respectability. So, what led her to risk everything for an affair? And does that make her guilty of murder? She wasn't the only woman in Forrester's life, and certainly not the only one who might have had cause to wish him dead . . .

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of Goodreads

Kate Foster has been a national newspaper journalist for over twenty years. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. The Maiden won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect 2020 prize for new writers. She lives in Edinburgh with her two children. 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Kate Foster - Amazon Profile.   Goodreads Profile       Kate Foster on Twitter