Hex by Jenni Fagan

Hex by Jenni Fagan was first published in 2022 by Polygon.

Hex was inspired by the 16th century North Berwick witch trials. It was a time when King James VI became obsessed with witchcraft and it was the women of Scotland that paid the price, any female who was just a wee bit different, spurned advances from men,  had an interest in herbalism and healing, or had something that a man wanted – maybe money or land – was in danger of being targetted and accused of being a witch. The book is dedicated to Geillis Duncan.

Iris, a 21st century woman is trying to contact Geillis via a seance. Iris wants to contact Geillis to comfort her in her last night on earth, in the cold filthy cell which is three levels below the High Street  (Royal Mile) in Edinburgh.  Geillis is due to be hanged on the 4th of December 1591 and Iris does manage to contact her.  Geillis tells Iris about the torture she had had to endure, which led to her confession of witchcraft and to her implicating others,  all innocent of course, just to get them to stop the pain and humiliation.

Iris is furious at the way 21st century women are being treated, and she tells Geillis about it.  In many ways there have been no improvements in the way men behave towards women and she rages at the daily attacks on females by men. “Sharp tongues get women killed.”

The Scotsman describes this book as being ‘Elegant and angry in equal measure.’

This was a great read, there were just a couple of things that annoyed me. There is no way that a 15 year old girl (Geillis) would use the word okay in 1591, and she wouldn’t know the word ‘teenage’ either.

It’s a very quick read at just 101 pages.

 

 

 

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid was published in 2024 and I borrowed a copy of it from the library. In this book McDermid puts forward her version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but written from Gruoch’s (Lady Macbeth’s) perspective.

Shakespeare fed us the myth of the Macbeths as murderous conspirators. But now Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history.

Gruoch is married to Gille Coemgain a chief in what is now the Inverness area of Scotland, he’s the Earl of Moray and is a bit of a brute. Gruoch is in danger because she hasn’t become pregnant and Gille is getting impatient,  obviously Gille Coemgain wants a son. Her days are numbered, and she knows it.

When the very handsome Macbeth arrives to visit his cousin Gille, Gruoch is instantly attracted to him, but apart from that he could be the answer to her problem. In this version the ‘three witches’ are Gruoch’s companions, a seer, a healer and a weaver.

This is a very slim volume at just 134 pages, very different from Val McDermid’s usual style and subject, but still a good read, I really enjoyed it.

This book is part of a series called Darkland Tales published by Polygon. Others in the series are:

Rizzio by Denise Mina

Hex by Jenni Fagan

Nothing Left to Fear from Hell by Alan Warner

Columba’s Bones by David Greig

 

 

 

 

British Bulldog by Sara Sheridan

British Bulldog by Sara Sheridan was published in 2015 and it’s the third book in the Mirabelle Bevan series which is set in the early 1950s. In this one Mirabelle is told by a solicitor that she has been named in the will of a man that she barely knew. A Major Bradley, better known as Bulldog Bradley has just died and in his will he asks that Mirabelle tries to track down a wartime colleague of his. They had both been prisoners of war and had escaped together in 1944, but had been split up somehow and although Bradley had got back safely to Blighty his escape partner Philip Caine hadn’t. Mirabelle has been left 10,000 guineas in the will if she will take on the job of looking for Caine. That’s £10,000 plus 10,000 shillings, a huge amount of money, as you can imagine Major Bradley’s widow isn’t amused, she thinks the worst of Mirabelle.

Mirabelle sets off for Paris, as her mother was French she speaks the language fluently and knows the city well. It’s not long before she’s drawn into dangerous situations and discovers that Caine and Bradley had known her beloved Jack Duggan during the war. There’s a different enemy now with the Cold War gaining momentum and Mirabelle finds herself in the thick of it.

I think this one is my favourite of the series so far, the Paris setting was a nice change and it was good to be there without actually having to travel.