Bookseller Reviews
View all
Edinburgh-based historical fiction for fans of 'The Familiars' and 'The Wolf Den'.
I was most incredibly excited on discovering this book, having grown up in Corstorphine and thus already being familiar with the legend of The White Lady u... READ MORE
A Historical Fiction lover's must-read!
Words can be worse than weapons.
They burn. Cut deep. Burrow under the skin. They can be damning.
Adulteress. Whore. Murderess.
The year is 1679, Edinburgh... READ MORE
Difficult to out down
The Maiden is set in Edinburgh and Corstorphine in the 1670s and inspired by true events.
Lady Christian Nimmo is accused of murdering her lover and unc... READ MORE
A historical thriller based off of a real story that delves deep into how toxic and inappropriate relationships can lead to tragedy…
The Maiden is a dark, cathartic and deeply relevant reimagining of a true criminal case - a Scottish murder from 1679. It’s a truly impressive and moving a... READ MORE
Synopsis
In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me.
Edinburgh, October 1679. Lady Christian Nimmo is arrested and charged with the murder of her lover, James Forrester. News of her imprisonment and subsequent trial is splashed across the broadsides, with headlines that leave little room for doubt: Adulteress. Whore. Murderess.
Only a year before, Christian was leading a life of privilege and respectability. So what led her to risk everything for an affair? And does that make her guilty of murder? She wasn’t the only woman in Forrester’s life, and certainly not the only one who might have had cause to wish him dead...
Inspired by a real life case, The Maiden gives a voice to women otherwise silenced by history. Told through chapters narrated alternately by Christian and Violet, the prostitute Forrester kept as a mistress, it’s a remarkable story, and clearly marks Kate Foster as a name to watch.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Pan Macmillan
- ISBN: 9781529091724
- Number of pages: 384
- Dimensions: 216 x 135 x 32 mm
- Weight: 492g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allFabulous historical debut
I love historical novels and this is a fabulous debut novel from Kate Foster. Based on true events, we follow the story of Lady Christian Nimmo in 1679 as ... READ MORE
An atmospheric historical novel inspired by true events in 17th Century Scotland
"In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me.”
My thanks to Pan Macmillan Mantle for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Maiden’ b... READ MORE
A very enjoyable book
I couldn't put this down. It's so easy to empathise with the characters. And imagine just what Edinburgh was like as 'Auld Reekie'. A great story. And the ... READ MORE
Not all gory stories have to happen in London
"The Maiden" by Kate Foster is a great historical novel about Lady Christian Nimmo and her affair with her uncle James Forrester. There is murder, women a... READ MORE
Women's Prize for Fiction Longlisted
Another good read from the Women's prize longlist this year. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if this was shortlisted as I am only hearing good things abo... READ MORE
An engaging read.
This was an absorbing read, based on a true story. It was told from the point of view of two women, Lady Christian Nimmo and Violet Blyth. Two very differe... READ MORE
Solid but lacking a sense of time
When their father leaves the family with a mountain of debt, Christian and her sister are forced to marry. Christian struggles to find anyone from society... READ MORE
Loved it
I could wax lyrical all day about this book.
The Tolbooth Jail, Edinburgh October 1679. Lady Christian Nimmo, she is fighting to save her name, and life.
... READ MORE
I was completely captivated by this book
The Maiden is an absolutely brilliant work of historical fiction, a story that is both compelling and shocking, and based on true events.
Kate Foster has ... READ MORE
haunting and captivating novel
This was a haunting and captivating novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this well written historical fiction based on a true event. The characterisation was brilli... READ MORE
Page turner
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is written in a very ingenious yet easy to follow manner, jumping from present to past - and sometimes almost future -. ... READ MORE
A fascinating read.
This was an absorbing read, based on a true story. It was told from the point of view of two women, Lady Christian Nimmo and Violet Blyth. Two very differe... READ MORE
Bleak but beautifully written
The Maiden is based on the real life case of Lady Christian Nimmo (if you don’t know her story like I didn’t, don’t google it until you’ve finished the boo... READ MORE
Outstanding
The Maiden by Kate Foster
=====================
Book Overview
============
Edinburgh, October 1679. Lady Christian is arrested and charged with th... READ MORE
Historically fabulous
I live in Edinburgh & love reading books that are set close to home. This is rich in description & details the trials women in two very different contexts ... READ MORE
Scottish historical fiction with a feminist edge!
It’s 1679 in Edinburgh and Lady Christian Nimmo has been charged with the murder of her lover, Lord James Forrester, a man who is also her decades-older un... READ MORE
A captivating read.
This book is wonderful. You feel for the women in this story. Every one of them is only where they are because of the situations they are born into.
The ... READ MORE
You may also like...
Imperium
Price: £9.99
The Miniaturist
Price: £9.99
Girl With a Pearl Earring
Price: £9.99
Company of Liars
Price: £10.99
Shogun
Price: £12.99
The Book Thief
Price: £9.99
The Essex Serpent
Price: £9.99
The Song of Achilles
Price: £9.99
Mythos
Price: £10.99
Circe
Price: £10.99
The Silence of the Girls
Price: £9.99
Pachinko
Price: £9.99
How We Disappeared
Price: £9.99
Wolf Hall
Price: £10.99
A Thousand Ships
Price: £10.99
Hamnet
Price: £10.99
Dissolution
Price: £10.99
The Pillars of the Earth
Price: £12.99