The Highland Witch: A Novel
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4.4 • 101 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
"This engrossing historical novel is essential for lovers of Scottish history. With its strong female protagonist, Fletcher’s latest work casts a spell that will linger over readers long after they have finished the book." —Library Journal (starred review)
In 1692, brilliant, captivating Corrag—accused witch, orphaned herbalist, and unforgettable heroine—is imprisoned for her supposed involvement in a massacre in the Scottish highlands. Suspected of witchcraft and murder and awaiting her death, she tells her story to Charles Leslie, an Irish propagandist who seeks information to condemn the Protestant King William, rumored to be involved in the massacre. Hers is a story of passion, courage, love, and the magic of the natural world. By telling it, she transforms both their lives.
Originally published in hardcover under the title Corrag: A Novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The plight of an accused witch in late 17th-century Britain inspires confusion, then pity, in her only visitor in Fletcher's engrossing historical (after Oystercatchers). The only witness to the massacre of the MacDonald clan, Corrag sits in a village jail under a death sentence for her supposed supernatural involvement in the killings. Her interrogator is Charles Leslie, a Catholic loyalist traveling in disguise who is seeking information that may implicate the Protestant king William in the murders. Corrag leads Charles through her lonely childhood: her mother hanged for witchcraft, Corrag fled her hometown and lived hand to mouth before gaining the protection of the MacDonald clan. Corrag spins colorful if sometimes meandering tales of the unfriendly English countryside and the fleeting joy of having found, in the clan, a place where she can be accepted; Charles is harder to pin down, and he often functions as a placeholder until his abrupt shift into a pivotal role late in the book. Fletcher gives readers a strong plot, enough vivid passages to compensate for the occasional dull spot, and a triumphant heroine in Corrag, whose travails are truly epic.
Customer Reviews
Not a witch
Loved this book so much, one of my all time favorites, I will reread in a few years
Corrag
Magnificent!! Couldn't put it down. The legend of Corrag is a testimony to the strength of the female spirit and sheds a bright light on a dark era, the misconception of "witch". As tragic as those burnings were, we need to remember them to keep bigotry, rumor and hatred at bay - even today.