Synopsis
The Times bestseller and winner of the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect Award and the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year.
'A masterpiece' – Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal
Inspired by a real-life case, 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 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, Lady Christian was newly married, 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 . . .
'Exceptional – a tense, thrilling investigation, with a decidedly feminist slant' – Daily Mail
'Riveting . . . the tension persists until the last page’ — The Times
'Threat hangs over every page like the awaiting guillotine, but the women in this book gleam sharper' — Cari Thomas, bestselling author of Threadneedle
Details
Reviews
“The Maiden is a masterpiece. A thrilling historical murder tale but so much more. Vivid, evocative and full of humanity. ”Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code
“Threat hangs over every page like the awaiting guillotine, but the women in this book gleam sharper. Witty, gritty and full of heart, their voices rise through the brutality and hardship of 17th century Edinburgh, battling to be heard”Cari Thomas, bestselling author of Threadneedle
“A gripping read with strong, compelling and unusual female characters - and a twisty plot that keeps the reader guessing. It cast a fresh light on a period of history when women have too often been seen merely as victims and brought them to life as protagonists in their own right”Sally Hinchcliffe, author of Hare House
“Page-turning, transportive, funny, and tremendously moving, The Maiden is a book to lose yourself in - just make sure you don't have any plans, because once you start reading, you won't want to stop”Jenny Ashcroft, author of Under the Golden Sun and The Echoes of Love
