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The Fanatic
An impressive debut from an exciting new Scottish voice – a stunning novel about history, identity and redemption. A no. 2 best-seller in Scotland.
It is Spring 1997 and Hugh Hardie needs a ghost for his Tours of Old Edinburgh. Andrew Carlin is the perfect candidate. So, with cape, stick and a plastic rat, Carlin is paid to pretend to be the spirit of Colonel Weir and to scare the tourists. But who is Colonel Weir, executed for witchcraft in 1670.
In his research, Carlin is drawn into the past, in particular to James Mitchel, the fanatic and co-congregationist of Weir’s, who was tried in 1676 for the attempted assassination of the Archbishop of St Andrews, James Sharp.
Through the story of two moments in history, The Fanatic is an extraordinary history of Scotland. It is also the story of betrayals, witch hunts, Puritan exiles, stolen meetings, lost memories, smuggled journeys and talking mirrors which will confirm James Robertson as a distinctive and original Scottish writer.
It is Spring 1997 and Hugh Hardie needs a ghost for his Tours of Old Edinburgh. Andrew Carlin is the perfect candidate. So, with cape, stick and a plastic rat, Carlin is paid to pretend to be the spirit of Colonel Weir and to scare the tourists. But who is Colonel Weir, executed for witchcraft in 1670.
In his research, Carlin is drawn into the past, in particular to James Mitchel, the fanatic and co-congregationist of Weir’s, who was tried in 1676 for the attempted assassination of the Archbishop of St Andrews, James Sharp.
Through the story of two moments in history, The Fanatic is an extraordinary history of Scotland. It is also the story of betrayals, witch hunts, Puritan exiles, stolen meetings, lost memories, smuggled journeys and talking mirrors which will confirm James Robertson as a distinctive and original Scottish writer.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
35 people are currently reading
540 people want to read
About the author
James Robertson
334 books269 followersJames Robertson (born 1958) is a Scottish writer who grew up in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. He is the author of several short story and poetry collections, and has published four novels: The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack, and And the Land Lay Still. Joseph Knight was named both the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year and the Saltire Society Book of the Year in 2003/04. The Testament of Gideon Mack was long-listed for the 2006 Man Booker Prize. And the Land Lay Still was awarded the Saltire Society Book of the Year Award in 2010. Robertson has also established an independent publishing imprint called Kettillonia, which produces occasional pamphlets and books of poetry and short prose, and he is a co-founder and the general editor of the Scots language imprint Itchy Coo, which produces books in Scots for children and young people. He lives in rural Angus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
April 14, 2021
Another excellent novel from James Robertson. If you've yet to read his work, I thoroughly recommend it!
January 11, 2010
In 1643, the Scots and the English signed a Solemn League and Covenant to promote Presbyterianism in the two countries and prevent the spread of Catholicism. In 1661, however, after the restoration of Charles II, England passed a law declaring the Covenant illegal. Many Scottish ministers and others, however, did not give up the fight and continued to perform acts that were now considered unlawful.
In James Robertson’s novel THE FANATIC (2000), present-day Andrew Carlin is paid to play the ghost of Covenanter Major Thomas Weir—who had been executed in 1670 on the charge of witchcraft—as a means of frightening tourists on a nightly tour of Old Edinburgh. Carlin, an eccentric outsider, is ideally suited for the role.
As Carlin researches the period to discover more about Weir, he is also led to James Mitchel, who in 1668 had attempted to assassinate the hated James Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews, and who was finally executed in 1678.
The scene in the novel shifts from the present to the 17th century and back, as Robertson explores both the thoughts and motivations of the Covenanters and those of Andrew Carlin. As it turns out, Carlin is as much a “fanatic” as many of those he has researched, and he finally abandons his job, giving the props he has used to an unknown homeless girl.
This novel is a fascinating read, even for someone who knows relatively little about Scottish history, and I recommend it highly.
In James Robertson’s novel THE FANATIC (2000), present-day Andrew Carlin is paid to play the ghost of Covenanter Major Thomas Weir—who had been executed in 1670 on the charge of witchcraft—as a means of frightening tourists on a nightly tour of Old Edinburgh. Carlin, an eccentric outsider, is ideally suited for the role.
As Carlin researches the period to discover more about Weir, he is also led to James Mitchel, who in 1668 had attempted to assassinate the hated James Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews, and who was finally executed in 1678.
The scene in the novel shifts from the present to the 17th century and back, as Robertson explores both the thoughts and motivations of the Covenanters and those of Andrew Carlin. As it turns out, Carlin is as much a “fanatic” as many of those he has researched, and he finally abandons his job, giving the props he has used to an unknown homeless girl.
This novel is a fascinating read, even for someone who knows relatively little about Scottish history, and I recommend it highly.
January 24, 2020
The Fanatic by James Robertson is an interesting novel, with two different plots running through it. One is set in Edinburgh in 1997, and tells the story of Andrew Carlin, who works as a spook on an Edinburgh ghost walk. The second narrative deals with James Mitchell, a 17th century religious fanatic who attempts to murder James Sharp, the archbishop of St Andrews, and is imprisoned, tortured and finally hung as a result.
The 17th century tale is based on the history of the time, a history awash in slaughter, torture and witchcraft. The modern tale is of a lonely character, Andrew Carlin, who suffers from mental health issues.
It is interesting the way in which the novelist tries to dovetail the two stories together. I'm not sure of the reason behind this style, perhaps the author is trying to make a point but the subtlety was lost on me.
It is still a good story and despite the passages in Auld Scots, very readable.
The 17th century tale is based on the history of the time, a history awash in slaughter, torture and witchcraft. The modern tale is of a lonely character, Andrew Carlin, who suffers from mental health issues.
It is interesting the way in which the novelist tries to dovetail the two stories together. I'm not sure of the reason behind this style, perhaps the author is trying to make a point but the subtlety was lost on me.
It is still a good story and despite the passages in Auld Scots, very readable.
March 14, 2018
A good story that mixes genres up a little with its duel narratives set three hundred years apart. Warning to potential readers though, it is heavy on Scottish dialect, not a massive problem once you get used to it, but I found it quite hard going at first.
March 6, 2014
The Fanatic by James Robertson is about a young preacher, Maister James Mitchel M.A., who was given the boot by order of the ‘traitor of traitors’, James Sharp. The year is 1677 and he lies in a stinking cell in the prison of Bass Rock off the east coast of Scotland, fifteen miles from Edinburgh.
Skip to Edinburgh 1997 and we have Hugh who is in need of a ghost, one that would appear down a half-lit close at ten o’clock at night and have people jumping out of their skins.
Hew McKail is mentioned (priority pages 96-99 and then dotted around less graphically) and I have no idea just how many ‘great’s go before ‘grandfather’. The title of the book is a fair description.
Skip to Edinburgh 1997 and we have Hugh who is in need of a ghost, one that would appear down a half-lit close at ten o’clock at night and have people jumping out of their skins.
Hew McKail is mentioned (priority pages 96-99 and then dotted around less graphically) and I have no idea just how many ‘great’s go before ‘grandfather’. The title of the book is a fair description.
January 3, 2024
The interweaving tale of two Edinburgh men and the hopeful feeling of Scotland voting for devolution in 1997, bittersweet given the political climate at the moment but historically very gripping.
September 22, 2019
Having read several of Robertson's other books, it was clear to me that this was his debut - the ducking and weaving between time periods and characters that is so masterful in And the Land Lay Still feels a little clunky here, and the links between them weren't as interesting, fruitful, or strong. However, the writing is still excellent - and more steeped in Scots than most of his other work for adults that I've read, which I liked. The characters are also really well drawn, and I was impressed that the only one who fits the 'Robertson protagonist' mold I've come to expect (painfully dithery middle aged man who knows it on some level but can't seem to change it, see Gideon Mack, the most contemporary of the characters from And the Land Lay Still, and the block from To Be Continued, and Hugh Hardie from this book) was actually not a very major character at all. Carlin in particular was a really interesting character that I almost wanted more of, despite him being one of the principles.
Also, nothing will ever be as validating to me as everyone else also not knowing what to call the "not quite Bruntsfield" area close to the canal that Carlin (and a good friend of mine) lives in, and having that detail in was so lovely.
Also, nothing will ever be as validating to me as everyone else also not knowing what to call the "not quite Bruntsfield" area close to the canal that Carlin (and a good friend of mine) lives in, and having that detail in was so lovely.
February 5, 2015
This not overlong novel is packed with incident, much of it allusively historical, and much of it is of a hallucinatory nature, imaginings of people and incidents from the Restoration. This novel's matter can by no means easily be unpacked; the stories intertwine, with reality (the underlying narrative), historical account (library books and clairvoyant sympathy), and dreams (appearing as reality) all mingling. What is real and what is spectral fantasy—with regard to the historical account of the condemned Covenanter fanatic James Mitchell—is never clear. There is a sympathy and correlation between his plight and contemporary Edinburgh slacker Andrew Carlin, but there is also what seems a disproportion in the comparison, as Carlin's indecisiveness, odd jobs, and garrett-flat existence are being set against James Mitchell's brutal torture and imprisonment for an attempted assassination, which failure serves to test and ultimately define his faith. In Carlin's vision of Mitchell's final moments, the condemned Covenanter composes several copies of a death speech (so that even if his words are not heard, they may be read) and he sings psalms from his childhood and he is consoled. In like fashion, facing the world after his tempestuous and wasting illness, Carlin consoles himself in a cheerful but mindless immersion in a video arcade game.
Underlying much of what is happening is the premise of a ghost story, of supernatural and spiritual matters that are re-enacted nightly. The novel, cunningly, makes itself out to be such an entertaining re-enactment, with characters, incidents, and other facts altered and re-arranged to give the audience most delight. Much of this novel's artful re-enactment is in the unpacking of the details of the stories! First this, then that, then some of this, then that... Robertson's craft is complex, and he makes it look a simple matter to mingle these stories of the past and the present, to represent narratives that appear to be incidents out of history and dreams that appears to be history. There is a mingling of tones, of the grave and the trivial and the antic. And then there are the literary fluourishes, the many internal idiosyncratic voices for a number of characters which in no wise jar (though I did wonder at Lizzie's account, about her happy marriage to Mitchell, marred only by his greater devotion to his relation with God).
The historical story of James Mitchell (and to a lesser extent Major Thomas Weir) is set within an especially rich context, that of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (ie, English Civil War) and the early Restoration. Ignorant of the extent to which Scotland was involved in the Civil War and how the Scottish Presbyterian Covenanter movement played such a significant role, I did some additional reading. Robertson does not oblige the reader to scurry to a history book for background, but it's clear that readers in the UK will more easily envision the colorful historic stage on which Mitchell's life is played. Orphan James Mitchell is taken under the wing of a Presbyterian minister shortly after seeing traitor Montrose's Irish soldiers executed. After University, Mitchell falters as a tutor, is implicated in forbidden Covenanter activity, hides out in Amersterdam, attempts an assassination, marries while on the lam for five years, is caught and imprisoned for two years, tortured then imprisoned for another two years, then brought to trial and executed. A mysterious "Secret Book" of John Lauder, Mitchell's contemporary and an Edinburgh lawyer reveals other details about Mitchell: how before Major Weir and his sister were executed, Mitchell had occasion to visit them in prison, each separately, just before their deaths. An aspect of Mitchell's crisis of faith is the trust, love, and confidence he'd had in Major Weir, who suddenly began to confess that he'd long been a monster, that his belief in his grace had made sacred his most abominable actions (including incest and bestiality).
Set up against Mitchell is Andrew Carlin, mid-30-ish slacker, indecisive about his present, past, and future. He is burdened by an off-putting physical presence; has mixed emotions about his parents, especially his father, who appeared placid but outside his sight were at each other's throats; has recently made himself culpable for the death of a homeless man; and is often conversing with a mirror whose persona is critical and snarky. Carlin is roped into working as the ghost of Major Weir in Hugh Hardie's ghost tour, and because he is uneasy about representing Weir without knowing all the facts, he begins to research Weir and then Mitchell, drawing much information from the "Secret Book" which is supplied to him by an unorthodox librarian. Illness makes Carlin feverishly experience aspects of Mitchell's life, and he even questions whether certain of his own actions had ever occurred, whether he'd even been out of bed. After a long bout, Carlin recites the finals days of Mitchell to a woman who'd been at University with him. He further unburdens himself by disposing of the Major Weir costume (his ghost kit), leaving it for a homeless teenage girl.
The novel's final chapters absent themselves of the historical gravitas of Mitchell and Weir. In the penultimate scenes, there are two comic bits that debunk the past: callow ghost-tour director Hugh Hardie is doused with a bucket of water by an angry woman who is nightly bothered by the noise of his ghost tour, and the homeless teenager wears the ghost kit Carlin left and strolls from the city centre towards the sunny coast, with each step leeching potency from the old Weir legend and the dark past.
This novel is a superior entertainment, clever and well crafted. Where its power lies is in its ability to hold onto the reader, even after the story has been told, and it's in the recollection that one begins to see how artfully the pieces have been put together.
Underlying much of what is happening is the premise of a ghost story, of supernatural and spiritual matters that are re-enacted nightly. The novel, cunningly, makes itself out to be such an entertaining re-enactment, with characters, incidents, and other facts altered and re-arranged to give the audience most delight. Much of this novel's artful re-enactment is in the unpacking of the details of the stories! First this, then that, then some of this, then that... Robertson's craft is complex, and he makes it look a simple matter to mingle these stories of the past and the present, to represent narratives that appear to be incidents out of history and dreams that appears to be history. There is a mingling of tones, of the grave and the trivial and the antic. And then there are the literary fluourishes, the many internal idiosyncratic voices for a number of characters which in no wise jar (though I did wonder at Lizzie's account, about her happy marriage to Mitchell, marred only by his greater devotion to his relation with God).
The historical story of James Mitchell (and to a lesser extent Major Thomas Weir) is set within an especially rich context, that of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (ie, English Civil War) and the early Restoration. Ignorant of the extent to which Scotland was involved in the Civil War and how the Scottish Presbyterian Covenanter movement played such a significant role, I did some additional reading. Robertson does not oblige the reader to scurry to a history book for background, but it's clear that readers in the UK will more easily envision the colorful historic stage on which Mitchell's life is played. Orphan James Mitchell is taken under the wing of a Presbyterian minister shortly after seeing traitor Montrose's Irish soldiers executed. After University, Mitchell falters as a tutor, is implicated in forbidden Covenanter activity, hides out in Amersterdam, attempts an assassination, marries while on the lam for five years, is caught and imprisoned for two years, tortured then imprisoned for another two years, then brought to trial and executed. A mysterious "Secret Book" of John Lauder, Mitchell's contemporary and an Edinburgh lawyer reveals other details about Mitchell: how before Major Weir and his sister were executed, Mitchell had occasion to visit them in prison, each separately, just before their deaths. An aspect of Mitchell's crisis of faith is the trust, love, and confidence he'd had in Major Weir, who suddenly began to confess that he'd long been a monster, that his belief in his grace had made sacred his most abominable actions (including incest and bestiality).
Set up against Mitchell is Andrew Carlin, mid-30-ish slacker, indecisive about his present, past, and future. He is burdened by an off-putting physical presence; has mixed emotions about his parents, especially his father, who appeared placid but outside his sight were at each other's throats; has recently made himself culpable for the death of a homeless man; and is often conversing with a mirror whose persona is critical and snarky. Carlin is roped into working as the ghost of Major Weir in Hugh Hardie's ghost tour, and because he is uneasy about representing Weir without knowing all the facts, he begins to research Weir and then Mitchell, drawing much information from the "Secret Book" which is supplied to him by an unorthodox librarian. Illness makes Carlin feverishly experience aspects of Mitchell's life, and he even questions whether certain of his own actions had ever occurred, whether he'd even been out of bed. After a long bout, Carlin recites the finals days of Mitchell to a woman who'd been at University with him. He further unburdens himself by disposing of the Major Weir costume (his ghost kit), leaving it for a homeless teenage girl.
The novel's final chapters absent themselves of the historical gravitas of Mitchell and Weir. In the penultimate scenes, there are two comic bits that debunk the past: callow ghost-tour director Hugh Hardie is doused with a bucket of water by an angry woman who is nightly bothered by the noise of his ghost tour, and the homeless teenager wears the ghost kit Carlin left and strolls from the city centre towards the sunny coast, with each step leeching potency from the old Weir legend and the dark past.
This novel is a superior entertainment, clever and well crafted. Where its power lies is in its ability to hold onto the reader, even after the story has been told, and it's in the recollection that one begins to see how artfully the pieces have been put together.
July 31, 2022
If I could give 3.5 stars I would. It's a vivid account of religious history in 1660s Edinburgh, alongside the present-day main character who functions as the lens through which we learn about the past. It was fun hearing various Scottish locations I know being referenced, and it was cool reading some sections in a version of old Scots. I also liked that it wasn't too 'brutal' considering the 1660s setting; there was violence in it but it wasn't the focus, so it didn't feel uncomfortable or pornographic in that sense.
The pace was a little 'off' for me, though. I got less than halfway through and put the book down for over a month, because I didn't know where it was going; it felt like a well-described ramble, and I wasn't sure I could be bothered to stick around until the end. I'm glad I did, though, to witness the resolution of Carlin and Mitchel, so I can have peace of mind.
The pace was a little 'off' for me, though. I got less than halfway through and put the book down for over a month, because I didn't know where it was going; it felt like a well-described ramble, and I wasn't sure I could be bothered to stick around until the end. I'm glad I did, though, to witness the resolution of Carlin and Mitchel, so I can have peace of mind.
October 14, 2025
Very enjoyable book - the long passages in Scots were very readable. I'm fascinated by this period of Scottish history - Calvinism, witchcraft and murky politics.
November 18, 2020
Scottish #Swag
January 2, 2018
A clever novel which drips Scottishness. Set in 1997 and the mid 17th century it twists between the 2 periods. This ploy is quite effective and provides some relief to the prevailing gloom of each period, especially the earlier one.
The two main characters are James Mitchell a 17th century extreme protestant fanatic and Andrew Carlin a history graduate but primarily a loner and an outsider who, like Mitchell, is not given to compromise. The term, and title of the book, equally applies to both of them.
The time spent by the reader in the 17th century is predominantly in Edinburgh and religious turmoil/warfare within its protestant community. We experience senseless and merciless barbarity and witness corruption, cruel injustice inflicted by the state against the weaker members of society, particularly those who do not conform to society’s mores. Andrew Carlin would almost certainly have perished had he lived in the earlier period.
As it is the author casts him brilliantly as the ghost of the colourful extremist preacher, Thomas Weir, executed for his rather unconventional lifestyle, to say the least. The ‘ghost’ is paid to appear alongside guided tours of Thomas Weir’s haunts (no apologies for the pun). Carlin acts as something of a medium as he immerses himself in reading about James Mitchell and his contemporaries. Sometimes the 2 characters almost seem to merge.
Andrew Carlin witnesses in 1997 the fall of the Tories who have been in power for almost 2 decades and witnesses general rejoicing north of the border as a consequence.
If evidence is needed of the separateness of Englishness and Scottishness it is here in plenty and it is hard to see Scotland as other than a separate state to the rest of the UK. A debut novel for James Robertson I believe and a good one.
NB It's written in Scots dialect and therefore not the easiest of reads for me. Most of the historical characters existed and I assume conformed broadly to the author's casting of them.
The two main characters are James Mitchell a 17th century extreme protestant fanatic and Andrew Carlin a history graduate but primarily a loner and an outsider who, like Mitchell, is not given to compromise. The term, and title of the book, equally applies to both of them.
The time spent by the reader in the 17th century is predominantly in Edinburgh and religious turmoil/warfare within its protestant community. We experience senseless and merciless barbarity and witness corruption, cruel injustice inflicted by the state against the weaker members of society, particularly those who do not conform to society’s mores. Andrew Carlin would almost certainly have perished had he lived in the earlier period.
As it is the author casts him brilliantly as the ghost of the colourful extremist preacher, Thomas Weir, executed for his rather unconventional lifestyle, to say the least. The ‘ghost’ is paid to appear alongside guided tours of Thomas Weir’s haunts (no apologies for the pun). Carlin acts as something of a medium as he immerses himself in reading about James Mitchell and his contemporaries. Sometimes the 2 characters almost seem to merge.
Andrew Carlin witnesses in 1997 the fall of the Tories who have been in power for almost 2 decades and witnesses general rejoicing north of the border as a consequence.
If evidence is needed of the separateness of Englishness and Scottishness it is here in plenty and it is hard to see Scotland as other than a separate state to the rest of the UK. A debut novel for James Robertson I believe and a good one.
NB It's written in Scots dialect and therefore not the easiest of reads for me. Most of the historical characters existed and I assume conformed broadly to the author's casting of them.
December 25, 2010
Anti-social Andrew Carlin takes a job as a ghost in one of Edinburgh's "ghost tours." He takes it too seriously: as he researches the historical figure whose ghost he's supposed to be impersonating, the radical Presbyterian "covenantor" Major Weir, executed in the 1670s for witchcraft and sex crimes, Carlin begins to identify a little too intensely with him. The Fanatic is an impressive fictional study of the uses and abuses of history. Caveat lector: some of the narrative and most of the dialogue are in Scots dialect. Though Robertson's writing is quite beautiful and his historical material quite convincing, the novel disappoints in several ways. First, though this may seem childish, there are no ghosts, and we don't really get much sense of the ghost tours and the stories (other than Weir's) they tell tourists. Second, the modern context of late 90s Edinburgh, in which a Scottish Parliament will finally return, gets short shrift. And the two stories of Mitchel (Weir's protege) and Carlin never quite intersect. Is Carlin a modern fanatic? In what way?
February 23, 2009
An interesting look at religion, politics, and the concept of history, how you prove what happened etc. A good story which leaves questions unanswered.
August 30, 2023
The Fanatic is a book about history, and historiography. These themes, explored more thoroughly in Robertson’s subsequent works (Joseph Knight; And the Land Lay Still) are given a classy exposition in this, his first novel.
The story unfolds in two parallel strands: the tale of 17th century religious zealot James Mitchel, the eponymous fanatic; and the strange case of Andrew Carlin, a history-obsessed loner living in Edinburgh in 1997. We first meet Mitchel holed up in the impregnable prison on Bass Rock in 1667. His story is then told periodically from childhood all the way to the act which led to his torture and imprisonment: a failed assassination attempt on Scotland’s most hated churchman, Archbishop James Sharp. This is interspersed with the present-day meanderings of the sinister Carlin, a man for whom Scottish history has morphed from being the subject of his abandoned Phd thesis into a surreal accompaniment to his increasingly disjointed everyday life.
Mitchel is surrounded by a full cast of real historical figures, peopling Robertson’s comprehensive portrayal of Scotland’s Taliban era. Fire-spitting clerics preside over bone-splintering torture; innocent women are pricked and deprived of sleep to the point of insanity and confession of witchcraft; local worthies are brought down amidst allegations of incest and bestiality; national conscience is allayed with the blood of martyrs. As a purely historical narrative, this would be impressive, if depressing, stuff.
But Robertson’s masterstroke is his weaving of ‘real’ history with the contemporary story of the fictitious Andrew Carlin, in many ways also society’s victim. The parallels, indeed, allow an alternative reading of the seemingly groundless inhumanity of the late 1600’s, and a consideration of the very meaning of the too-often misapplied term ‘fanaticism’. We learn that Carlin has had a dysfunctional childhood, and a mother with serious mental health issues. Bereft by the death of his father, then ostracized by the education system, he lopes through his adult life “seeing history” in all, and everyone, he passes. His own personal Caledonian Antizyzygy is literally reflected, through lengthy philosophical debates with his bedroom mirror. It takes a resolution of the Mitchel story for Carlin to finally break the spell of his own Doppelgänger.
By the end of the book, on the lovely sunny morning in May 1997 when Scotland awoke to a new parliament, one feels that the tide might just have turned for Carlin. For many during Scotland’s darkest age, it never did.
The story unfolds in two parallel strands: the tale of 17th century religious zealot James Mitchel, the eponymous fanatic; and the strange case of Andrew Carlin, a history-obsessed loner living in Edinburgh in 1997. We first meet Mitchel holed up in the impregnable prison on Bass Rock in 1667. His story is then told periodically from childhood all the way to the act which led to his torture and imprisonment: a failed assassination attempt on Scotland’s most hated churchman, Archbishop James Sharp. This is interspersed with the present-day meanderings of the sinister Carlin, a man for whom Scottish history has morphed from being the subject of his abandoned Phd thesis into a surreal accompaniment to his increasingly disjointed everyday life.
Mitchel is surrounded by a full cast of real historical figures, peopling Robertson’s comprehensive portrayal of Scotland’s Taliban era. Fire-spitting clerics preside over bone-splintering torture; innocent women are pricked and deprived of sleep to the point of insanity and confession of witchcraft; local worthies are brought down amidst allegations of incest and bestiality; national conscience is allayed with the blood of martyrs. As a purely historical narrative, this would be impressive, if depressing, stuff.
But Robertson’s masterstroke is his weaving of ‘real’ history with the contemporary story of the fictitious Andrew Carlin, in many ways also society’s victim. The parallels, indeed, allow an alternative reading of the seemingly groundless inhumanity of the late 1600’s, and a consideration of the very meaning of the too-often misapplied term ‘fanaticism’. We learn that Carlin has had a dysfunctional childhood, and a mother with serious mental health issues. Bereft by the death of his father, then ostracized by the education system, he lopes through his adult life “seeing history” in all, and everyone, he passes. His own personal Caledonian Antizyzygy is literally reflected, through lengthy philosophical debates with his bedroom mirror. It takes a resolution of the Mitchel story for Carlin to finally break the spell of his own Doppelgänger.
By the end of the book, on the lovely sunny morning in May 1997 when Scotland awoke to a new parliament, one feels that the tide might just have turned for Carlin. For many during Scotland’s darkest age, it never did.
February 17, 2022
Fifty pages in and I was split about wether to continue or not. Dour presbyterianism is not my thing, and the long passages in Scots slowed the book down even more.
But it's not a terribly long book so I persevered and actually, am really glad I did!
Scots is not my first language, but I found, if you treat it like Chaucer or Shakespeare, and read it aloud, the text opened up. And being made to slow down had the unexpected bonus of engaging more with what was written (I have a bad habit of speed-reading everything).
And what a rich world shimmers into view: dramatic social upheaval and geographical settings, witches and exiles and how lofty ideals get fixed and turn toxic. We are so far removed, these days, from the idea that an ideal world is possible (history shows us lots of examples of well-meaning utopias going very wrong) but for a society and a world still profoundly seduced by biblical idealism (the fall-out of Guttenberg's printed bible was still playing out) some of that raw enthusiasm and faith shines through: that if people just did God the right way a new Jerusalem could be built. For reals. Truly.
This is also a book by a Scot, about Scotland, and so much so that England and the British state get barely a passing mention, neither good nor bad. I'm so used to people conflating England with Britain, and seeing things from the South-East of England's perspective, so it's quietly revolutionary to read of a distinct Scottish world-view, not as an aside but as central to the narrative.
There's a lot going on here under the deceptively simple story of timeshifts and historical fanaticism.
The last few pages, referencing an election victory and the possibility of change, is nicely open-ended and well considered. History can be grim, but it's still unfolding.
But it's not a terribly long book so I persevered and actually, am really glad I did!
Scots is not my first language, but I found, if you treat it like Chaucer or Shakespeare, and read it aloud, the text opened up. And being made to slow down had the unexpected bonus of engaging more with what was written (I have a bad habit of speed-reading everything).
And what a rich world shimmers into view: dramatic social upheaval and geographical settings, witches and exiles and how lofty ideals get fixed and turn toxic. We are so far removed, these days, from the idea that an ideal world is possible (history shows us lots of examples of well-meaning utopias going very wrong) but for a society and a world still profoundly seduced by biblical idealism (the fall-out of Guttenberg's printed bible was still playing out) some of that raw enthusiasm and faith shines through: that if people just did God the right way a new Jerusalem could be built. For reals. Truly.
This is also a book by a Scot, about Scotland, and so much so that England and the British state get barely a passing mention, neither good nor bad. I'm so used to people conflating England with Britain, and seeing things from the South-East of England's perspective, so it's quietly revolutionary to read of a distinct Scottish world-view, not as an aside but as central to the narrative.
There's a lot going on here under the deceptively simple story of timeshifts and historical fanaticism.
The last few pages, referencing an election victory and the possibility of change, is nicely open-ended and well considered. History can be grim, but it's still unfolding.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2020
The story of Covenanter James Mitchel, attempted assassin of Archbishop Sharp of St Andrews. The synopsis may seem simple, but the story is told through the eyes of Andrew Carlin,self confessed wierdo hired by Hugh Hardie to to portray Major Weir, one of Edinburgh's most infmous residents in a tourist ghost walk. In his attempt to find out more about Weir, Carlin comes across a rare and ancient and possibly highly dubious document in the library linking Weir to the little known James Mitchel. Mitchels story is relayed as Carlin's own sanity hangs in the balance in our timeframe. The history examines the corruption of the state on trying to gain a confession from Mitchel, promising him his life to extract it, then reneging and resorting to torture.
The main iterest is this little known period of Scots history, the Covenanters backing of Charles II with the promise he would respect Scotlands right to Presbyterianism, the promise reneged and the introduction Episcopalianism, an athema to the Kirk, and the resultant rising and hunt of the rebels by the Government. Mitchels desire to add to the Covenant, not by the ministry at which he feels he has no talent, but to assassinate Archbishop Sharp who is seen as the main traitor to Scotland and the Covenant.
The main iterest is this little known period of Scots history, the Covenanters backing of Charles II with the promise he would respect Scotlands right to Presbyterianism, the promise reneged and the introduction Episcopalianism, an athema to the Kirk, and the resultant rising and hunt of the rebels by the Government. Mitchels desire to add to the Covenant, not by the ministry at which he feels he has no talent, but to assassinate Archbishop Sharp who is seen as the main traitor to Scotland and the Covenant.
February 11, 2025
James Robertson’s The Fanatic is a compelling exploration of Edinburgh across two vastly different time periods—the 1670s and the late 1990s. The novel masterfully weaves these timelines together, following Andrew Carlin, a modern-day tour guide whose fascination with the city’s dark past leads him to uncover the stories of Major Thomas Weir, a notorious religious extremist, and James Mitchell, a Covenanter who was tried and tortured for attempting to assassinate an archbishop.
Robertson’s meticulous research brings 17th-century Scotland vividly to life, immersing the reader in an era of political and religious turmoil. The historical narrative is rich with detail, capturing the paranoia, fervor, and brutal justice of the time. At the same time, the contemporary storyline offers an intriguing perspective on how history is remembered, interpreted, and even manipulated. Carlin’s journey is both personal and intellectual, as he grapples with his own identity while unearthing the city’s hidden truths.
What makes The Fanatic particularly striking is its balance between historical authenticity and compelling storytelling. Robertson’s prose is both lyrical and sharp, effortlessly shifting between centuries while maintaining a gripping sense of suspense.
Robertson’s meticulous research brings 17th-century Scotland vividly to life, immersing the reader in an era of political and religious turmoil. The historical narrative is rich with detail, capturing the paranoia, fervor, and brutal justice of the time. At the same time, the contemporary storyline offers an intriguing perspective on how history is remembered, interpreted, and even manipulated. Carlin’s journey is both personal and intellectual, as he grapples with his own identity while unearthing the city’s hidden truths.
What makes The Fanatic particularly striking is its balance between historical authenticity and compelling storytelling. Robertson’s prose is both lyrical and sharp, effortlessly shifting between centuries while maintaining a gripping sense of suspense.
November 17, 2017
A good warm up for the author's majestic And the Land Lay Still , this is an entertaining book where the action switches back and forth between the 1990s and the seventeenth century, a period when Scotland was beset by religious extremism and violence. I read this on a visit to the city in which it's set and a group of burly, suited middle aged men with Heart of Midlothian ties and wives wearing poppy print dresses for Remembrance Sunday in the city's Oxford Bar struck me as probable descendants of the hellfire preachers of the volume. The narrative does fizzle out a little as too much is signposted too early while the central figure in the modern narrative - a loner called Carlin - is only sketchily drawn save for a couple of gripping back stories. Robertson is always an author worth turning to
July 13, 2021
"Andrew Carlin works as a ghost on a nightly tour of Old Edinburgh. With stick, cape and rubber rat he pretends to be the spirit of Major Weir, a religious extremist burnt at the stake in 1670. Carlin's research into Weir draws him into the past and, in particular, to James Mitchel, a 'justified sinner', imprisoned in 1674 for the attempted assassination of the Archbishop of St. Andrews. Through the story of Carlin and Mitchel, The Fanatic reveals an extraordinary history of Scotland: a tale of betrayals, stolen meetings, lost memories, smuggled journeys and disguised identities."
~~back cover
I just couldn't get into this book. I think it was the mechanism of one chapter being set in the present and the next in the past.
~~back cover
I just couldn't get into this book. I think it was the mechanism of one chapter being set in the present and the next in the past.
September 23, 2023
One of my absolute favorite historical novelists. Commonly uses the dual plot structure - this one has a 1670's narrative about the execution of a Scots Covenanter and a 1990's narrative about an eccentric marginally sane person who is investigating the Covenanter and a more famous cleric executed a few years before him. Lots of unreliable narrators. Unreliable source documents investigated in the 1990's. And a tremendous denouement - a court scene with the Covenanter, who confessed when promised that his life would be spared. At the trial everybody involved -- including the archbishop of Edinburgh -- perjured themselves pretty flagrantly. When the defendant presents proof of perjury, the trial is just adjourned and he is convicted and executed.
May 24, 2024
I chose this having read a couple of James Robertson's later books, and whilst this one is ok, it is not on a par with them.
I liked the idea of moving between a late twentieth century historical tour extra and the Covananter's war of the 17th century, but in execution, it proved too fragmented. I thought that he did not establish a rhythm in either period. The backdrop of the 1997 Labour election victory was interesting, as when I read this, the 2024 election was called, and it looks likely to have a similar outcome.
I was glad to have read his later work first, as The Fanatic might not have tempted me to his other, more accomplished, novels.
I liked the idea of moving between a late twentieth century historical tour extra and the Covananter's war of the 17th century, but in execution, it proved too fragmented. I thought that he did not establish a rhythm in either period. The backdrop of the 1997 Labour election victory was interesting, as when I read this, the 2024 election was called, and it looks likely to have a similar outcome.
I was glad to have read his later work first, as The Fanatic might not have tempted me to his other, more accomplished, novels.
January 9, 2018
I am glad to say that in this last 12 months I have read many of Robertson's books: had I started with this debut I may not have delved into his other delightful books.
He has a wonderful way of drawing you quickly into a tale but in this case I would suggest there seemed too much of a need to incorporate all the painstaking research undertaken. Fascinating though it was, I knew very little of the Covenanters and Presbyterians ( unpleasant lot) , it did make for a somewhat difficult read at times as we leapt from long ago to current day, from old to new scots.
I think the concentration repaid the effort but the author has developed a lighter touch as his trade has progressed.
He has a wonderful way of drawing you quickly into a tale but in this case I would suggest there seemed too much of a need to incorporate all the painstaking research undertaken. Fascinating though it was, I knew very little of the Covenanters and Presbyterians ( unpleasant lot) , it did make for a somewhat difficult read at times as we leapt from long ago to current day, from old to new scots.
I think the concentration repaid the effort but the author has developed a lighter touch as his trade has progressed.
March 26, 2018
Ambitious but disjointed - the modern and 17th C stories are linked to no real effect. My struggle was with boredom and lack of empathy with the main character. My struggle was to finish this one, and it was such a disappointment... I really wanted to love it. I might have preferred two separate stories. The history is interesting enough but it's hard to believe that here is yet another book from a modern, talented, author who thinks wrestling with religion is an interesting topic, and portraying maybe-madness is an interesting literary technique.
October 12, 2017
2.5
This book was determined to be a Great Scottish Novel. I wasn't feeling it and got stressed out that I wasn't respecting Scotland. This book was determined to keep Scots alive, but as an outlander who's reasonably familiar with Scots the way people spoke didn't feel genuine, which put me off and then I got stressed out that I wasn't respecting Scots. It has good moments but in the end, it wound up feeling too much like homework to properly enjoy.
This book was determined to be a Great Scottish Novel. I wasn't feeling it and got stressed out that I wasn't respecting Scotland. This book was determined to keep Scots alive, but as an outlander who's reasonably familiar with Scots the way people spoke didn't feel genuine, which put me off and then I got stressed out that I wasn't respecting Scots. It has good moments but in the end, it wound up feeling too much like homework to properly enjoy.
July 16, 2019
Fascinating snippet of Edinburgh history and folklore woven into a poignant commentary on memory, reality and modern Scotland. The dialect was challenging but fun and certainly added much to the authentic feel of the historical setting. I'm not sure the modern narrative had the appeal of the 17th century story and would like to have had some resolution to Carlin and his hallucinations than the vague ending. Otherwise might have given this 5 stars!
October 4, 2020
An interesting look at two different eras in the city of Edinburgh, juxtaposing some of the loners and obsessives that lived in each time. I had some trouble with the Scottish dialect heavily sprinkled throughout the book but found the hopping between timelines ultimately engrossing after an initial slow start.
July 12, 2025
It's a nice read alternating between the streets of 17th century and 20th century Edinburgh. The phonetic scottish was sometimes very difficult for me to understand though. The trial was a bit too lengthy.
March 17, 2019
Clever but a bit dull.
April 30, 2019
One of the main characters is James Mitchel, so obviously I had to read this. A bit of a slog at times, but the historical bits are interesting.
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