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The Last Witch of Scotland
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 parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community.
Then arrives a motley troupe of travelling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack. It is just the distraction Janet, and particularly Aila, needs: for the first time in a long while, their lives are filling with joy and friendship, and a kind of hope Aila hasn't known since her father's death. But in this small community, faith is more powerful than truth, and whispers more dangerous even than fire.
Haunting and deeply moving, The Last Witch of Scotland is a story of love, loyalty and sacrifice, inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Britain.
'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 parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community.
Then arrives a motley troupe of travelling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack. It is just the distraction Janet, and particularly Aila, needs: for the first time in a long while, their lives are filling with joy and friendship, and a kind of hope Aila hasn't known since her father's death. But in this small community, faith is more powerful than truth, and whispers more dangerous even than fire.
Haunting and deeply moving, The Last Witch of Scotland is a story of love, loyalty and sacrifice, inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Britain.
1 pages, Audiobook
First published April 13, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 764 reviews
October 13, 2023
Gorgeous. So well written. Historical fiction with some romance, found family and a strong female lead? Sign me up always. Highly recommend as an autumnal read.
June 7, 2023
The jacket says it’s well written. It isn’t.
May 28, 2024
Is this a true story? The stone that marks the spot where Janet Horne, the last witch to be executed in Scotland, was burned to death is close by and I pass it daily. There is little evidence of her and her daughter’s lives - Aila escaped from the tollbooth (jail) the night before the execution - or of the details of Janet’s death. Nevertheless, the horrors of a 200 year long vendetta against innocent women and not a few men accused of witchcraft and subsequently burned or otherwise put to death is a horror that should never be forgotten.
Paris’s book invents lives for these two women, creating an almost entirely fictional story around them. I can’t decide if it would be better described as YA fiction - it would certainly be appropriate for young people - or if it’s just not particularly good fiction. It’s an important story to tell, however, and raises the profile of this ignominious period of history. It is well researched as far as that is possible and the local detail is interesting but some of it just doesn’t ring true. For example, the author has Aila being very vocal at the trial and I really can’t imagine that would have been tolerated under any circumstances, far less at a ‘witch trial’. For me, this is a very average 3 star read.
Paris’s book invents lives for these two women, creating an almost entirely fictional story around them. I can’t decide if it would be better described as YA fiction - it would certainly be appropriate for young people - or if it’s just not particularly good fiction. It’s an important story to tell, however, and raises the profile of this ignominious period of history. It is well researched as far as that is possible and the local detail is interesting but some of it just doesn’t ring true. For example, the author has Aila being very vocal at the trial and I really can’t imagine that would have been tolerated under any circumstances, far less at a ‘witch trial’. For me, this is a very average 3 star read.
May 15, 2024
This was so frustrating because it could have been SO good. My main issue is that I don’t think this author really understands the idea of “show, don’t tell”. Not everything has to be explained, there is space for subtlety and suggestion and implication rather than exposition. There were so many times plot points or character reactions were explained when they really didn’t need to be, and there was very little space left for a reader’s own interpretation. It was also not super convincing in terms of characterisation - I never felt like I truly got to know them well enough. The good characters weren’t flawed enough to be relatable, so I actually preferred the bad characters because they had more depth. I really liked the ending and the final quarter or so of the book so I’m glad I stuck it out, but it wasn’t enough to redeem the whole book for me. It felt like the perspectives of a 21st century family inserted into the context of the 1700s, so anything that challenged modern understandings of gender equality or religion was automatically painted as ridiculous. There wasn’t very much nuance in that respect, and not much time given to the validity of peoples’ beliefs and traditions, even though they are now seen as wildly outdated.
TL;DR much more subtlety would have made this so much better.
TL;DR much more subtlety would have made this so much better.
April 10, 2023
This historical novel was incredible from the very beginning!!!
Set in the early 18th century, with detailed descriptions about the last witch prosecution in Scotland, the author was able to present a panoply of characters, some strong, courageous and inspiring, others with small closed minds full of ignorance and prejudice, gifting the reader with a remarkable story, I may have cried a bit...
The author's notes present the real historical facts, which in my opinion just adds value and credibility to an already magnificent tale.
Truly epic!!!!
Set in the early 18th century, with detailed descriptions about the last witch prosecution in Scotland, the author was able to present a panoply of characters, some strong, courageous and inspiring, others with small closed minds full of ignorance and prejudice, gifting the reader with a remarkable story, I may have cried a bit...
The author's notes present the real historical facts, which in my opinion just adds value and credibility to an already magnificent tale.
Truly epic!!!!
dnf
October 3, 2023Corny, anachronistic waffle.
June 9, 2024
IM FREE. FINALLY FREE FROM THIS BOOK!!
Anyway
Wish i liked it because it was a very good concept that could’ve explored the life of Janet Horne and her daughter much better. But instead it gave her a random love interest and made her reliant on him (particularly in the end of the book).
Honestly if i’d realised it was written by a man i wouldnt have read it
Also he kept adding rape scenes for no reason other than to help drive the plot. Malley didn’t need to have been raped in order to join the troupe he could’ve picked any other reason and if rape ‘had’ to have been the reason it was handled awfully and I hated it. It was a throwaway scene that had no need.
In general i really didn’t like the troupe. They had no use in the book other than to serve as convenient plot help and be love interests. I didn’t care for any of them and the book would’ve been better without them.
Also the epilogue is so stupid like I know it says that it wasn’t witchcraft and it’s memory that makes them feel the burning but you literally just wrote witchcraft and magic into a book where the entire point is where witchcraft is not a thing and is used to attack and oppress women.
Anyway
Wish i liked it because it was a very good concept that could’ve explored the life of Janet Horne and her daughter much better. But instead it gave her a random love interest and made her reliant on him (particularly in the end of the book).
Honestly if i’d realised it was written by a man i wouldnt have read it
Also he kept adding rape scenes for no reason other than to help drive the plot. Malley didn’t need to have been raped in order to join the troupe he could’ve picked any other reason and if rape ‘had’ to have been the reason it was handled awfully and I hated it. It was a throwaway scene that had no need.
In general i really didn’t like the troupe. They had no use in the book other than to serve as convenient plot help and be love interests. I didn’t care for any of them and the book would’ve been better without them.
Also the epilogue is so stupid like I know it says that it wasn’t witchcraft and it’s memory that makes them feel the burning but you literally just wrote witchcraft and magic into a book where the entire point is where witchcraft is not a thing and is used to attack and oppress women.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2025
4.5☆
Paris has such a way with words that I felt as if I was actually a part of each scene. In the beginning pages, when Aila was embracing the sights and sounds of the market, I felt transported to that time and place. I had a sense of joy and delight. Equally, Paris was able to instill feelings of fear, anger, suspicion, sorrow, happiness and glee all through his combination of words.
This is a tale of happiness and joy shared among people who care deeply about one another. It is also about the terrible injustice of the witchcraft trials. My favorite quote, which I include from each book I review, is powerful.
Favorite Quote:
"'We're guilty!' I shouted the words.
'We're guilty of being women and of having no man to speak for us. We're guilty of being intelligent and educated, of speaking out when we see injustice or cruelty. We're guilty of looking and sounding different. But we are not witches and we are not guilty of witchcraft!'"
Aila Horne
Paris did his research to make his novel as historically accurate as possible, which I greatly appreciated. Thank you, Mr. Paris.
Paris has such a way with words that I felt as if I was actually a part of each scene. In the beginning pages, when Aila was embracing the sights and sounds of the market, I felt transported to that time and place. I had a sense of joy and delight. Equally, Paris was able to instill feelings of fear, anger, suspicion, sorrow, happiness and glee all through his combination of words.
This is a tale of happiness and joy shared among people who care deeply about one another. It is also about the terrible injustice of the witchcraft trials. My favorite quote, which I include from each book I review, is powerful.
Favorite Quote:
"'We're guilty!' I shouted the words.
'We're guilty of being women and of having no man to speak for us. We're guilty of being intelligent and educated, of speaking out when we see injustice or cruelty. We're guilty of looking and sounding different. But we are not witches and we are not guilty of witchcraft!'"
Aila Horne
Paris did his research to make his novel as historically accurate as possible, which I greatly appreciated. Thank you, Mr. Paris.
thank-u-next
June 26, 2023Another case of an author feeling the need to paint his historical characters painfully modern to make them more palatable to us, but ending up only succeeding in making them extremely anachronistic. Main character’s parents live in rural Scotland in the 1720s but are of course widely travelled and well educated and her dad of course disdains the patriarchy, cuddles her mum in public (this is 50 years before Austen, mind), and dies by running off to save a random baby from a fire. What’s wrong with just keeling over from a heart attack, not special enough for you?
April 10, 2023
4.5 stars ⭐️ That ending 🥺😭
December 10, 2023
Not since the awful
Where the Crawdads Sing
have I been lured in by a universally highly rated book that turned out to be such annoying wiffle. Any sense of time and place is undermined constantly by the jarringly anachronistic mindsets of all of the main protagonists, a troupe of 21st century liberals inexplicably travelling as a vaudeville act in 18th century Scotland. I could possibly have forgiven it and just read it as a passable cod-historical potboiler were it not for the criminal epilogue which, in a confusing modern-day codicil, includes both a suggestion that magic is 'real' whilst simultaneously not just telling you wot you just learnded, but beating you over the head with it in case you were too stoopid to pick up the blindingly obvious from the preceding 300 pages.
July 14, 2023
“Sowing mistrust is a dangerous seed to plant. It’s a crop that can so easily lead to violence.”
The Last Witch Of Scotland is our current pick for Scottish Book Club and takes us on a journey back in time to 1720s and tells the story of Janet Horne, the last witch to be tried and executed for witchcraft. As this subject has been Scotlands shame for many years a lot of us were unaware of a) that this even happened to this degree in our country and b) the full story of Janet Horne. Often we are sold the stories of witchcraft in a fairytale way, with these women being evil sorceresses that deserve to have a house fall on their head and killed (hiya Dorothy!). It’s about time we were told the whole story and that the legacy of people like Janet Horne is remembered.
The Last Witch did just that. I have been to the place where Janet was executed but I didn’t know the whole story and how utterly STUPID it is that she was executed for, quite frankly, FUCK ALL! Throughout a lot of it I thought “this is stupid that can’t be what happened” only to look it up and realise that that was factually correct! Aila and her mother were excellent characters and I really felt drawn to them and their story.
For me, what it lacked was more about them and how it made them feel. It was written from Ailas point of view and yet we seemed to skim over the actual execution and focus on the other characters around Aila and their story. Maybe it’s just me and the fact I want all the trauma all the time but it meant that I was missing that sheer anger and horror in that moment… when it is a horrific murder that would have left Aila with a lot of trauma of her own. In saying that, the character of Reverend McNeil did give me that feeling. Every encounter with him however brief really made my skin crawl. The fact that men of the cloth like him existed and made it their mission to find “witches” and burn them is a huge injustice and abuse of power that I can’t think of too much without my heart breaking.
The book was fast paced, interesting and had me hooked from the beginning with an amazing story that deserves to be written. However, this isn’t the feminist read that the cover pretends to be (and that’s ok)… it deals with the much wider issue and history of witch trials in all its forms and highlights just some of the many horrifying reasons that people were killed as an “act of god”.
Overall, a very important read that kept me interested.. I just wish there had been more.
The Last Witch Of Scotland is our current pick for Scottish Book Club and takes us on a journey back in time to 1720s and tells the story of Janet Horne, the last witch to be tried and executed for witchcraft. As this subject has been Scotlands shame for many years a lot of us were unaware of a) that this even happened to this degree in our country and b) the full story of Janet Horne. Often we are sold the stories of witchcraft in a fairytale way, with these women being evil sorceresses that deserve to have a house fall on their head and killed (hiya Dorothy!). It’s about time we were told the whole story and that the legacy of people like Janet Horne is remembered.
The Last Witch did just that. I have been to the place where Janet was executed but I didn’t know the whole story and how utterly STUPID it is that she was executed for, quite frankly, FUCK ALL! Throughout a lot of it I thought “this is stupid that can’t be what happened” only to look it up and realise that that was factually correct! Aila and her mother were excellent characters and I really felt drawn to them and their story.
For me, what it lacked was more about them and how it made them feel. It was written from Ailas point of view and yet we seemed to skim over the actual execution and focus on the other characters around Aila and their story. Maybe it’s just me and the fact I want all the trauma all the time but it meant that I was missing that sheer anger and horror in that moment… when it is a horrific murder that would have left Aila with a lot of trauma of her own. In saying that, the character of Reverend McNeil did give me that feeling. Every encounter with him however brief really made my skin crawl. The fact that men of the cloth like him existed and made it their mission to find “witches” and burn them is a huge injustice and abuse of power that I can’t think of too much without my heart breaking.
The book was fast paced, interesting and had me hooked from the beginning with an amazing story that deserves to be written. However, this isn’t the feminist read that the cover pretends to be (and that’s ok)… it deals with the much wider issue and history of witch trials in all its forms and highlights just some of the many horrifying reasons that people were killed as an “act of god”.
Overall, a very important read that kept me interested.. I just wish there had been more.
January 2, 2025
wanted to like this but it was unfortunately SO AWFUL, up there with the worst writing I have ever read. Subtlety and nuance are dead.
This would’ve been better if it had been marketed as a cheesy YA romance, but as is it did a disservice to the women who died in the Scottish witch trials. the epilogue also should be a CRIME it was so stupid and unnecessary and felt genuinely weird and disrespectful to read
watered down 21st century feminism implied onto a 16th century girl and the men in the story always save the day anyway. several times implies that everyone is speaking gaelic, then english, then gaelic again despite historical inaccuracy for the area and it never makes sense.
also every single character was SO annoying. 2 stars because it’s set in Loth and because i did read the whole thing
This would’ve been better if it had been marketed as a cheesy YA romance, but as is it did a disservice to the women who died in the Scottish witch trials. the epilogue also should be a CRIME it was so stupid and unnecessary and felt genuinely weird and disrespectful to read
watered down 21st century feminism implied onto a 16th century girl and the men in the story always save the day anyway. several times implies that everyone is speaking gaelic, then english, then gaelic again despite historical inaccuracy for the area and it never makes sense.
also every single character was SO annoying. 2 stars because it’s set in Loth and because i did read the whole thing
December 27, 2023
What an amazing book which delves into the history of the persecution of women for witchcraft in 18th century Scotland. Filled with enigmatic, strong and tragic characters that I couldn’t help falling in love with… Paris not only tells the tale of Aila and her mother’s life and subsequent trial as witches but explores the themes of family, discrimination, hate, power and womanhood so eloquently. This book made me smile, cry, made me frustrated and angry but more importantly made me remember the plight of women from so long ago, the ripples of which can still be felt today. Always… our only crimes are being ‘women’!
May 10, 2023
A very typical tale of how many women were branded as witches just due to fear of others. It was definitely not an era to be different or not be in favor of the church.
I had never heard this portion in actual history, but in reading more about it, the author did a great job in creating a gripping story with not a lot of documented historical details(not like hearing of the Salem Witch Trials). The personalities that were brought to Aila, Jack, Janet, and the rest of the troupe were fantastic. Aila and Jack really bonded which was nice to see since Aila was conscious of her burn injuries and Jack had some memories that haunted him.
Once this really got going, I really got pulled in. It doesn't end how I was expecting either which was a nice change.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.
I had never heard this portion in actual history, but in reading more about it, the author did a great job in creating a gripping story with not a lot of documented historical details(not like hearing of the Salem Witch Trials). The personalities that were brought to Aila, Jack, Janet, and the rest of the troupe were fantastic. Aila and Jack really bonded which was nice to see since Aila was conscious of her burn injuries and Jack had some memories that haunted him.
Once this really got going, I really got pulled in. It doesn't end how I was expecting either which was a nice change.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.
May 21, 2024
AD/PR Product
I received this book from Black and White Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
When I read the blurb of The Last Witch of Scotland, it immediately appealed to me. It gives a fictional account of the life of Janet Horne, the last person executed for witchcraft in Britain.
In this book Philip Paris creates an engaging backstory for Janet and her daughter Aila. We are invited into their world and meet two women who are suspected because of their differences - physical and intellectual. The story examines how precarious women's standing in society was at that time, particularly without a male family member to represent and/or protect them. Any sign of intelligence, independence or defiance could quickly be turned against them.
We're guilty of being women and of having no man to speak for us. We're guilty of being intelligent and educated, of speaking out when we see injustice or cruelty. We're guilty of looking and sounding difference, but we are not guilty of witchcraft!
Aila and her mother also meet and sympathise with other outsiders such as the performing troop, each of whom has their own secrets and are similarly suspected by society.
The role of fear in religion is also highlighted. The comparative influence of the two ministers, one benevolent and sympathetic and the other puritanical and uncompromising, shows how easily distrust can be sown among communities possessed by fear and how quickly self preservation comes to the fore.
Aila and her mother Janet elicit the reader's sympathies from the outset, making the ending all the more poignant.
This is an engaging read and gives an insight into life in the Scottish Highlands at the time as well as a context for the witch trials and the subtle shift in attitudes that was gradually happening towards these cases. As an entry point into some background to the Scottish witch trials and as a memorial to Janet Horne and the other women so accused, this book serves its purpose well.
I received this book from Black and White Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
When I read the blurb of The Last Witch of Scotland, it immediately appealed to me. It gives a fictional account of the life of Janet Horne, the last person executed for witchcraft in Britain.
In this book Philip Paris creates an engaging backstory for Janet and her daughter Aila. We are invited into their world and meet two women who are suspected because of their differences - physical and intellectual. The story examines how precarious women's standing in society was at that time, particularly without a male family member to represent and/or protect them. Any sign of intelligence, independence or defiance could quickly be turned against them.
We're guilty of being women and of having no man to speak for us. We're guilty of being intelligent and educated, of speaking out when we see injustice or cruelty. We're guilty of looking and sounding difference, but we are not guilty of witchcraft!
Aila and her mother also meet and sympathise with other outsiders such as the performing troop, each of whom has their own secrets and are similarly suspected by society.
The role of fear in religion is also highlighted. The comparative influence of the two ministers, one benevolent and sympathetic and the other puritanical and uncompromising, shows how easily distrust can be sown among communities possessed by fear and how quickly self preservation comes to the fore.
Aila and her mother Janet elicit the reader's sympathies from the outset, making the ending all the more poignant.
This is an engaging read and gives an insight into life in the Scottish Highlands at the time as well as a context for the witch trials and the subtle shift in attitudes that was gradually happening towards these cases. As an entry point into some background to the Scottish witch trials and as a memorial to Janet Horne and the other women so accused, this book serves its purpose well.
May 31, 2024
I read this one in part during a visit to Scotland last week, and for three of those days I was in Inverness, the area this takes place, in part. I enjoyed learning about the history of the persecution of women deemed as witches, and it made me investigate more. However, whilst I liked it, I didn’t love it, so a 3.5 ⭐️
October 28, 2024
Vond dit een heel goed boek ! Ik ben helemaal verliefd op Schotland 🏴 ! Heb dit boek daar dan ook gekocht, ook al kende ik het niet. In begin is het geschreven vanuit 2 perspectieven, daarna smelten de twee perspectieven samen… leuk om zo eens wat geschiedenis op te doen… is gebaseerd op het verhaal van de “de laatste heksenverbranding” in Engeland.
August 5, 2023
After listening to The Maiden by Kate Foster, and loving it, this book came to my attention. Another story based in truth in Scotland from a similar area, but deals with a witch trial. I enjoyed the story, but it is also terrifying at heart. I enjoyed the author's note at the end, which explains the basic true story. Once again, great narrators.
June 19, 2024
2,5 ⭐️ maybe i shouldn’t have had high expectations for this book.
scottish history is something that always intrigued me, especially the excecution of witches, and that’s why this book appealed to me. this subject is such an important piece of history that in my opinion is not talked about enough. and a subject that i don’t know as much of as i would like to. the fact that (mostly) women got accused of witchcraft because they had their own opinion or were a bit different than others is horrible.
i hoped this book would give me more information of how these witch trials arised. however it didn’t. the book started with two pov’s, the one of aila and of jack. this second character didn’t intrigue me at all and i was bored a lot of the time. aila is a fierce, independent woman and i adored her.
this book felt like reading a history textbook instead of a historical fiction novel most of the time. the writing was very tiring and the author didn’t really use the famous show don’t tell rule.
furthermore, this book is full of sadness and grief. i think reading this book while in scotland would’ve made me enjoy it more, because you’re able to picture the setting better. sadly, this just wasn’t the right fit for me. if anyone knows good books about witches, please recommend them to me!
scottish history is something that always intrigued me, especially the excecution of witches, and that’s why this book appealed to me. this subject is such an important piece of history that in my opinion is not talked about enough. and a subject that i don’t know as much of as i would like to. the fact that (mostly) women got accused of witchcraft because they had their own opinion or were a bit different than others is horrible.
i hoped this book would give me more information of how these witch trials arised. however it didn’t. the book started with two pov’s, the one of aila and of jack. this second character didn’t intrigue me at all and i was bored a lot of the time. aila is a fierce, independent woman and i adored her.
this book felt like reading a history textbook instead of a historical fiction novel most of the time. the writing was very tiring and the author didn’t really use the famous show don’t tell rule.
furthermore, this book is full of sadness and grief. i think reading this book while in scotland would’ve made me enjoy it more, because you’re able to picture the setting better. sadly, this just wasn’t the right fit for me. if anyone knows good books about witches, please recommend them to me!
April 15, 2025
4.25/5
The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris is set in the Scottish Highlands and is inspired by Janet Horne, the last person in Britain to be executed for witchcraft. It’s beautifully written and follows Aila, who is disfigured and disabled, and her Mother, who shows signs of dementia. Soon rumours of witchcraft spread and this is a story of survival that moved me to tears, with some touching romance.
The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris is set in the Scottish Highlands and is inspired by Janet Horne, the last person in Britain to be executed for witchcraft. It’s beautifully written and follows Aila, who is disfigured and disabled, and her Mother, who shows signs of dementia. Soon rumours of witchcraft spread and this is a story of survival that moved me to tears, with some touching romance.
January 16, 2025
Very interesting book.
Personally, I think the first part was a bit slow but from the page 208 (yes, I looked for it) it starts to getting better.
I have read it so fast and I was inmerse of what would happen to Aila and Janet.
It is a very necessary book to understand who unfair and cruel was (and it is still) being a woman.
Personally, I think the first part was a bit slow but from the page 208 (yes, I looked for it) it starts to getting better.
I have read it so fast and I was inmerse of what would happen to Aila and Janet.
It is a very necessary book to understand who unfair and cruel was (and it is still) being a woman.
September 7, 2024
Inspired by a true story the author puts meat onto the bones of a few facts known about Janet and Aila Horne, a mother and daughter tried as witches in 1727. Janet has the 'honour' of being the last witch to be executed in Britain. This was a wonderfully written tale full of heart and tenderness as well as the horrors of misogyny and religion. I'm glad the author decided to give Aila a happier ending.
June 7, 2025
Read this for class and under no other circumstance would I have finished this.🫥✨️
The book wasn't bad, the story it's based on, was really intresting, and the themes are really important... however, the writing wasn't suuuper compelling.
If you're into historical novels and want to learn more about witch history and are not deterred by a rather ... modern writing style, this might be a read for you.🤷🏽♀️
The book wasn't bad, the story it's based on, was really intresting, and the themes are really important... however, the writing wasn't suuuper compelling.
If you're into historical novels and want to learn more about witch history and are not deterred by a rather ... modern writing style, this might be a read for you.🤷🏽♀️
August 29, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ I truly truly loved this book and the characters. I was very emotionally involved with the story and the found family aspect in this book was top-tier.
October 15, 2023
Okay, ouch. My heart hurts from that ending!! This is a gorgeous and tragic story that is balanced beautifully with a bit of romance and the cutest found family setup. I thought this was very thoroughly researched - I learned a lot (definitely make sure to read to the authors note at the back as it goes into more historical detail and is quite interesting). This book really goes for the jugular with emotions, it was a rollercoaster! I read it in October which was ✨chefs kiss✨ for autumnal vibes
April 13, 2025
Let me start on a positive note: the cover of this edition is absolutely stunning, and the name Aila is beautiful and evocative. Unfortunately, that’s where most of my enthusiasm ends.
The book fell short for me in a few key areas. The characters feel like broad, empty stereotypes, lacking depth and emotional nuance. The writing style is average at best, with dialogue that often feels forced and artificial. It doesn’t quite capture natural human interaction, which made it difficult to connect with the characters or feel fully immersed in the story.
That said, there are a few moments that stood out. The descriptions of the Scottish landscape and towns were lovely, and I particularly enjoyed the scenes set in markets and during the trial. These parts brought a little more life and tension into the narrative.
The idea of including a travelling theatre troupe had potential, but it wasn’t fully developed. And the reverend character felt oddly reminiscent of the one in The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave—a book that, in contrast, handles historical witch trials with much more grace and authenticity.
The author does attempt to integrate historical facts through the narrator’s point of view, likely aiming to educate readers. But it feels clunky and unnatural, often reading like a textbook. For example, instead of letting the setting unfold organically, the narration pauses to explain how people lived at the time. It breaks the flow and weakens the storytelling.
Certain character moments, like Peggy’s postpartum struggles, are clearly trying to add depth, but end up feeling more like surface-level sociology lessons. And some scenes—like the golf course moment—are just over the top.
There are also several frustrating plot points. Why didn’t Jack marry Aila from the beginning? It would’ve resolved a lot of needless drama. The trial sequence had potential, but Jack’s actions with the knife left me puzzled. The burning scene was almost laughable with the makeup idea—it just didn’t land. However, I did like the escape to Ireland; it added a small sense of hope to an otherwise grim tale.
There’s also a lot of death, including Sim’s “cerebral commotion,” which adds to the emotional weight but not always in a meaningful way.
Then there’s the final chapter, set in modern times—honestly, a real “WTF” moment. It felt like it came from a completely different book. The writing was rigid, the dialogue stiff, and it didn’t flow at all with the rest of the narrative.
Overall, Thea’s Witch of Scotland was a miss for me. While it had a few redeeming features, they weren’t enough to outweigh the flat characters, awkward writing, and underdeveloped plot. I wouldn’t recommend it—but if you’re interested in powerful historical witch trial fiction, I’d point you to The Mercies instead.
Also, side note: Dunrobin Castle sounds beautiful. I definitely need to visit one day!
The book fell short for me in a few key areas. The characters feel like broad, empty stereotypes, lacking depth and emotional nuance. The writing style is average at best, with dialogue that often feels forced and artificial. It doesn’t quite capture natural human interaction, which made it difficult to connect with the characters or feel fully immersed in the story.
That said, there are a few moments that stood out. The descriptions of the Scottish landscape and towns were lovely, and I particularly enjoyed the scenes set in markets and during the trial. These parts brought a little more life and tension into the narrative.
The idea of including a travelling theatre troupe had potential, but it wasn’t fully developed. And the reverend character felt oddly reminiscent of the one in The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave—a book that, in contrast, handles historical witch trials with much more grace and authenticity.
The author does attempt to integrate historical facts through the narrator’s point of view, likely aiming to educate readers. But it feels clunky and unnatural, often reading like a textbook. For example, instead of letting the setting unfold organically, the narration pauses to explain how people lived at the time. It breaks the flow and weakens the storytelling.
Certain character moments, like Peggy’s postpartum struggles, are clearly trying to add depth, but end up feeling more like surface-level sociology lessons. And some scenes—like the golf course moment—are just over the top.
There are also several frustrating plot points. Why didn’t Jack marry Aila from the beginning? It would’ve resolved a lot of needless drama. The trial sequence had potential, but Jack’s actions with the knife left me puzzled. The burning scene was almost laughable with the makeup idea—it just didn’t land. However, I did like the escape to Ireland; it added a small sense of hope to an otherwise grim tale.
There’s also a lot of death, including Sim’s “cerebral commotion,” which adds to the emotional weight but not always in a meaningful way.
Then there’s the final chapter, set in modern times—honestly, a real “WTF” moment. It felt like it came from a completely different book. The writing was rigid, the dialogue stiff, and it didn’t flow at all with the rest of the narrative.
Overall, Thea’s Witch of Scotland was a miss for me. While it had a few redeeming features, they weren’t enough to outweigh the flat characters, awkward writing, and underdeveloped plot. I wouldn’t recommend it—but if you’re interested in powerful historical witch trial fiction, I’d point you to The Mercies instead.
Also, side note: Dunrobin Castle sounds beautiful. I definitely need to visit one day!
July 12, 2025
"Being a woman was her only crime"
[AD: Thanks to Black & White Publishing for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
SYNOPSIS
"In the aftermath of a tragic fire that kills her father, Aila and her mother, Janet , move to the remote parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community.
Then arrives a motley troupe of travelling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack . It is just the distraction Janet, and particularly Aila, for the first time in a long while, their lives are filling with joy and friendship, and a kind of hope Aila hasn't known since her father's death. But in this small community, faith is more powerful than truth, and whispers more dangerous even than fire."
MY THOUGHTS
🔥 Based on the story of the last person (a woman) in Britain (the Scottish Highlands) to be executed for witchcraft, I knew instantly this was the story for me. I am fascinated by the witch trials and how women were persecuted in the 15-1700s for just being women.
🔥 Set in 1727 in the Scottish Highland, a wonderful place to be transported to, I was immediately gripped by the story of Aila and her mother AND the travelling troupe of entertainers that cross their paths.
🔥 Aila's mother, Janet, starts to show early signs of Dementia whilst also being two women living on their own who dare to have a voice of their own, they are quite quickly singled out but the local Reverend as possible witches.
🔥 The characters, the setting, the core theme of misogyny and the brutality of the witch trials that plagued Europe during this time, were just all wonderfully written, heartbreaking and poignant.
🔥 I could visualise the beauty of the north of Scotland, the crofts, and the small community, as it was so immersive.
As someone who spent a lot of my childhood in the Scottish Highlands, this was a bittersweet read: bitter because of the topic and sweet because of the utterly bewitching/darkly devilish characters that kept me hooked until the very end.
April 17, 2023
'"It really was witchcraft then?"
"No, not witchcraft...An injustice so great, it cries out to us from the past so that we should never forget."'
📚
You know me, nothing gets me as excited as a bit of Scottish witch history does so I was delighted when @bwpublishing sent me a copy of The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris and invited me to join the book tour. The Last Witch of Scotland is historical fiction set in the Scottish Highlands in 1727 and reimagines the events leading up to the execution of Janet Horne, the last person in Britain to be executed for witchcraft.
📚
I have read a lot of witchy fiction but I was surprised by how accessible this particular book is despite the heavy subject matter. The narrative is told primarily from the perspective of Janet's teenage daughter, Aila, giving the novel a distinctly YA feel, making it a lighter read than it might otherwise have been, and distinguishing it from other similar books I've read on the same topic.
📚
The story itself is entertaining and well-paced, following not only Janet and Aila but also a travelling troupe of performers, whose "found family" dynamic adds some colour to Janet and Aila's world and broadens the scope of the narrative as the tale gallops towards its harrowing end.
📚
"No, not witchcraft...An injustice so great, it cries out to us from the past so that we should never forget."'
📚
You know me, nothing gets me as excited as a bit of Scottish witch history does so I was delighted when @bwpublishing sent me a copy of The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris and invited me to join the book tour. The Last Witch of Scotland is historical fiction set in the Scottish Highlands in 1727 and reimagines the events leading up to the execution of Janet Horne, the last person in Britain to be executed for witchcraft.
📚
I have read a lot of witchy fiction but I was surprised by how accessible this particular book is despite the heavy subject matter. The narrative is told primarily from the perspective of Janet's teenage daughter, Aila, giving the novel a distinctly YA feel, making it a lighter read than it might otherwise have been, and distinguishing it from other similar books I've read on the same topic.
📚
The story itself is entertaining and well-paced, following not only Janet and Aila but also a travelling troupe of performers, whose "found family" dynamic adds some colour to Janet and Aila's world and broadens the scope of the narrative as the tale gallops towards its harrowing end.
📚
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