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.
'Compelling, evocative, heart-wrenching and beautifully written. Highly recommended.' - Fiona Valpy, author of The Storyteller of Casablanca
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 village of Loth. Aila, who was badly burned in the fire, attracts the eye of suspicious and superstitious villagers, especially the new Reverend McNeil, a man determined to cleanse the village from evil.
Then arrives a motley troupe of travelling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack, further unsettling peace in the village and stoking something new in Aila - a kind of hope she hasn't known since her father's death. Trouble is brewing, and if Aila and Janet aren't careful, everything may yet end in flames.
Inspired by the true story of the last person to be tried and executed as a witch in Britain, The Last Witch of Scotland is a harrowing tale shedding light on one of the country's darkest periods in history.
About the Author
Highland-based author Philip Paris is best known for his books about Orkney's famous WW2 Italian chapel, the historical fiction The Italian Chapel and the non-fiction Orkney's Italian Chapel: The True Story of an Icon. His varied work includes Men Cry Alone, a contemporary novel that broke new ground in raising the profile of domestic abuse against men and which won the 2019 Scottish Association of Writers' Barbara Hammond trophy. Casting Off, a hilarious novel about residents in a Highland care home, was based on his sell-out stage play of the same name.
