The Burnings - Naomi Kelsey

The Burnings

Review by Andrea

Rating 9/10

When I saw the cover of this book in the shop window at Waterstones it really caught my eye, so much so I had to go inside and find out what the book was about. When I found out that it was about Witches in Scotland and was based on real life I just had to pick up a copy. Luckily I had some credit to use. When I went on holiday last September I debated whether to take a book I was currently reading or take a completely new one in the hope of reading it within a week. I decided to take this as well as my Kindle and one other book I was already reading. I  started reading this when I had a spare bit of time, but mostly in the evenings when we got back to the caravan after a fun day out exploring. 

The story takes place in 1589 and follows Geillis, a wise-woman and housemaid in Scotland and Margareta a lady in waiting to Anne of Denmark who have both newly arrived in Scotland from Denmark. Geillis gets caught up with a coven of suspected Witches that is trying to prevent the marriage of James VI and Anne as well as to replace James as King of Scotland, with his right-hand man Lord Bothwell. Margareta on the other hand is serving her mistress all while trying to navigate life in this new country along with her new husband, but is soon mixed up with Geillis when she falls pregnant and seeks help to ease her pregnancy and labour. 

A handful of women are starting to get arrested and soon rumours start to fly as to who's involved and who is next to be arrested and accused. In the hope of trying to find out the truth and the real people behind the plot, people are being tortured and given less to no trial before they are sent to a pyre to burn. Geillis is arrested and tortured in the hope she will reveal the name of Bothwell to her jailer. But when she doesn't say the name she somehow ends up helping King James write his new book Daemonologie, before she is sent to burn. Margareta finds that her husband is caught up with Bothwell and he goes on the run to escape the wrath of King James and in the hope of stopping Bothwell's plans. This causes her to be shunned by all those around her, including her friend and mistress Anne. Margareta does what she can to keep her head down and to not only keep herself safe but also the life of her young son. By the end Margareta has run away with her husband to avoid prosecution from the King and Queen, but they both soon return to court and the King's favour once Bothwell is sent into exile and no longer seen as a threat. 

When we got home from our holiday I will admit that I did put this down for a long period of time, what with looking at Witches as part of my University Dissertation, I didn't want to over do it. The start of the book flicks between both women in Denmark and Scotland and was made up of short chapters. But once Margareta comes to Scotland the chapters get a bit longer, but still flits between both women. I felt that I had to push myself to get this book finished as it took me a while to get into it, I'm normally okay with the flitting between characters and places, but for some reason I struggled with this one. It was a good story, but to me it didn't really kick in till about half way through when the women started to get arrested and accused. Because I knew that this was based on real life Witches in Scotland, I knew that I wanted to carry on and read the book. 

While reading the book I had to re-read a few parts, I'm not sure if that was down to me just having a moment or just not understanding what was said the first time round. Since reading the book it has made me want to know more about Witches in Scotland. I have just spent a year looking at Welsh Witches while at University and it would be nice to look and compare them together as I know there are major differences. It has also made me more determined to visit Scotland especially Edinburgh and Sterling Castle. I hope to find more books like this one that tell the story of women caught up and accused of Witchcraft. 

I would recommend this book for anyone that is like me and has an interest in Witches and wants to know a little bit more about what life was like for people that were accused of Witchcraft, even if this is a fiction novel. I will at some point pick this up again and give it a re-read as it might help me understand it a little bit more and to pick up a few bits that I missed. Since doing a year on Welsh Witches, it has made me want to write a fiction book about Gwen ferch Ellis who was the first woman accused of being a Witch and executed in Wales. Reading this book has given me an insight and a few ideas of what I can and need to put in my story.