The Burnings
Naomi Kelsey’s gripping debut novel is based on the 16th-century North Berwick Witch Trials and centres around two real historical figures: Geillis Duncan, a Scottish midwife, and Margareta Vinstar, a lady-in-waiting to Princess Anna of Denmark. Geillis and Margareta meet when Princess Anna is betrothed to King James VI of Scotland. Anna’s journey to Scotland is delayed by storms, so James sails to her. His ship is caught in bad weather, but in the febrile atmosphere of the times, the storms are said to have been conjured up by witches to stop the marriage. James is determined to investigate.
Geillis looks vulnerable, as her knowledge of herbs and potions can be misconstrued as witchcraft. But Margareta has problems too. She is caught up in political machinations involving Francis Stewart, the Earl of Bothwell (nephew of Mary of Queen of Scots’ third husband), a challenger to James’s throne. This could be solved by her mistress, Anna, giving birth to James’s son, but James prefers to spend time with his male favourite. Can Geillis’s knowledge of herbs help Anna get pregnant?
There’s plenty of spying and betrayals going on around the two women amid the witch trials. Can they trust each other and, if they can’t, what will they do to survive?
The book is told from Geillis’s and Margareta’s points of view, and both characters are equally compelling. The interactions between James and Geillis are chilling. The book is obviously well researched, but be warned, it contains scenes of rape and torture. At 448 pages, I felt some areas could have been tightened, but it is a moving and fascinating novel about a horrific period of history.
