A renowned local author will discuss his latest work of historical fiction at an event in Dornoch next Saturday, October 11.
Philip Paris, who lives near Tain, will give a one-hour talk on his new book A Fire in their Hearts at Dornoch Social Club.
Author Philip Paris. Picture: Federica Stefani.Philip Paris’s new novel tells the story of witch Janet Horne and her daughter.
Mr Paris is well known for his previous bestsellers, including the Last Witch of Scotland and The Italian Chapel.
The Last Witch of Scotland, which is about Dornoch woman Janet Horne – the last person executed for witchcraft in Britain in 1727 – was named Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year in 2024 and Blackwell’s Edinburgh Book of the Year in 2023.
A powerful tale of love, faith and survival, A Fire in their Hearts is also inspired by true events: the 17th century ‘Killing Times’, a period of state-sponsored persecution against the Scottish Covenanters.
During this time government troops hunted down and executed Covenanters without trial for refusing to swear an oath renouncing their Presbyterian beliefs.
The book focuses on childhood sweethearts Violet and Samuel who, in 1662, are shipwrecked off the coast of Orkney after being sentenced to a life of indentured servitude on the brutal sugar plantations of Barbados for their Presbyterian faith and allegiance to the Covenanters.
Reviewers have described the book as ‘heartfelt and devastating’ and an ‘utterly heart-wrenching novel’.
The talk next Saturday will begin at 10am. The Dornoch Bookshop will be on site with copies of A Fire in the Hearts and The Last Witch of Scotland.
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