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In March 1704 Patrick Morton, a 16-year-old blacksmith in the coastal Fife town of Pittenweem, claimed to have found a witch's spell left at his door - a wooden bucket containing a fire coal and some water. At once he felt ill, or so he said - he could barely stand, had no appetite, became emaciated. In May he started to have fits. Morton accused several local women of tormenting him by witchcraft, setting off a witch-hunt reminiscent of the Middle Ages, dragging innocent women and men into a snare of repression and death, The Weem Witch tells the story of the Pittenweem witches, using contemporary documents to bring a horrifying episode in Scotland's past under the spotligh
The independent women of Scotland stand up to a witch hunt, male fury and the power of the Church in a battle for survival in this compelling historical novel based on true events in early eighteenth century Scotland. 1703: The wild east coast of Scotland. Returning to her home town of Pittenweem, fishwife and widow Sorcha McIntyre knows she faces both censure and mistrust. After all, this is a country where myth and legend are woven into the fabric of the everyday, a time when those who defy custom like Sorcha has are called to account. It is dangerous to be a clever woman who 'doesn't know her place' in Pittenweem - a town rife with superstition. So, when a young local falls victim to witc...
A homage to a remarkable poet and his world. 'At The Loch of Green Corrie is more than merely elegant, more than a collection of albeit fascinating insights, laugh-out-loud observations and impressively broad erudition' - Sunday Herald 'You could easily make a case that Andrew Greig has the greatest range of any living Scottish writer' - Scotsman For many years Andrew Greig saw the poet Norman MacCaig as a father figure. Months before his death, MacCaig's enigmatic final request to Greig was that he fish for him at the Loch of the Green Corrie; the location, even the real name of his destination was more mysterious still. His search took in days of outdoor living, meetings, and fishing with ...
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This is the ideal guide to the whole route, so rich in history and natural beauty. Designed to be used by walkers on the Path or visitors to any point along it, it introduces a wealth of castles, churches, harbors, monuments and red-roofed houses. Hamish Brown gives practical advice on all aspects of walking the Path, whether you are making a seven-day trip along its whole length or walking a short section on a Sunday afternoon. Revising his earlier guide to the route, he explores every part of the Fife coast, including the famous Forth bridges, the charming East Neuk fishing villages of Pittenweem, Elie and St Monans, as well as Anstruther, Crail and St Andrews. Along the way he provides a mass of fascinating information about people and places that can be read for pleasure and kept as the souvenir of a unique and unforgettable part of Scotland.
Along the coast of Fife, in villages like Culross and Pittenweem, history records that some women were executed as witches. Nevertheless, the reality of what happened the night that Janet Cornfoot was lynched at Pittenweem is hard to grasp as one sits by the harbour watching the fishing boats unload their catch and the pleasure boats rising with the tide. How could people do this to an old woman? Why was no-one ever brought to justice? And why would anyone defend such a lynching? The task of the historian is to try to make events in the past come alive and seem less strange. The details of the witch-hunt are fascinating. Some of the anecdotes are strange. The modern reader finds it hard to i...
Salt is a vital commodity. For many centuries it sustained life for Scots as seasoning for a diet dominated by grains (mainly oats), and for preservation of fish and cheese. Sea-salt manufacturing is one of Scotland's oldest industries, dating to the eleventh century if not earlier. Smoke- and steam-emitting panhouses were once a common sight along the country's coastline and are reflected in many of Scotland's placenames. The industry was a high-status activity, with the monarch initially owning salt pans. Salt manufacture was later organised by Scotland's abbeys and then by landowners who had access to the sea and a nearby supply of coal. As salt was an important source of tax revenue for ...