The Highland Witch

September 6, 2010
The plight of an accused witch in late 17th-century Britain inspires confusion, then pity, in her only visitor in Fletcher's engrossing historical (after Oystercatchers). The only witness to the massacre of the MacDonald clan, Corrag sits in a village jail under a death sentence for her supposed supernatural involvement in the killings. Her interrogator is Charles Leslie, a Catholic loyalist traveling in disguise who is seeking information that may implicate the Protestant king William in the murders. Corrag leads Charles through her lonely childhood: her mother hanged for witchcraft, Corrag fled her hometown and lived hand to mouth before gaining the protection of the MacDonald clan. Corrag spins colorful if sometimes meandering tales of the unfriendly English countryside and the fleeting joy of having found, in the clan, a place where she can be accepted; Charles is harder to pin down, and he often functions as a placeholder until his abrupt shift into a pivotal role late in the book. Fletcher gives readers a strong plot, enough vivid passages to compensate for the occasional dull spot, and a triumphant heroine in Corrag, whose travails are truly epic.

Starred review from September 15, 2010

In 1692, British soldiers massacred members of the MacDonald clan after having enjoyed the clan's hospitality in its Scottish stronghold of Glencoe. This brutal episode in British history is related to Irish pamphleteer Charles Leslie by Corrag, an accused witch and healer who tried to save members of the clan. British author Fletcher (Eve Green; Oystercatchers) allows Corrag to tell her story in exquisite poetic detail. As she awaits execution, Corrag tells Leslie about her life as the daughter and granddaughter of women executed for witchcraft. Her descriptions of the natural beauty of the Highlands are hypnotic, whether she is describing a stag on a hill or spiders entangled in her hair. And while members of the MacDonald clan are not heroes--given their marauding ways--they are not villains either, only men trying to survive. VERDICT This engrossing historical novel is essential for lovers of Scottish history. With its strong female protagonist, Fletcher's latest work casts a spell that will linger over readers long after they have finished the book. Corrag's story and that of the brutality suffered by women throughout the British Isles need to be retold in each generation.--Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

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