Superstitions and witchcraft as it was viewed at the end of the 17th Century in Britain is vividly portrayed. Corrag agrees to talk to him so that the truth may be known about her involvement, and so that she may be less alone, in her final days. Oystercatchers is the work of a seriously talented young author in possession of one of the most poetic and original voices working now.

This historical novel combines the Jacobite uprisings of the 1690s with the terrible witch-hunts of Britain which were only repealed in 1735, the last three hundred years before that in which hundreds of thousands of woman were persecuted-for ridiculous things, for being independent,, eccentric, for knowing herb lore, for living alone. The story is a gripping one that recounts the political massacre of Glencoe in February 1692, told through an imprisoned woman who was condemned as a witch and was waiting to be burned, and who had earlier managed to save many lives in Glencoe. I hoped she'd be spared but didn't count on it, not after what was done to her mother and grandmother, not in that atmosphere and given the history of the place and time. She spoke very tenderly - her sight is very tender, in that she sees and feels what we have mostly forgotten to see. With Eve Green, which won the Whitbread first novel prize, and the subsequent Oystercatchers, Susan Fletcher has built a reputation for her complex female narrators and for the luminous poetry of her prose.Fletcher’s style and prose are unlike anything I’ve ever read–so much so that this novel brought actual tears to my eyes TWICE. It took my breath away - a remarkable work of historical fiction that reminded me very much of Mary Stewart's Arthurian saga.

You will love this book if you see the beauty of nature, if you love walking under a starry night sky, if you have heard and seen and experienced the beauty of a cold winter night or a motionless stag or rabbits frolicking on a field in spring. I would be remiss if I did not offer a special thanks to my friend, Candi, for pointing me toward this novel. There is an excellent afterword which explains what is known about the central characters - Corrag, members of the MacDonald Clan and Charles Leslie, an Irish Jacobite. Susan Fletcher is the author of Eve Green, which won the Whitbread Award for First Novel, Oystercatchers, and Corrag. It is, however, a novel with moments of such extraordinary beauty and quiet power that it is impossible, having read it, not to look at the world anew.Corrag;s plight fist inspires contempt in Charles and later compassion as he begins to understand far from being a wanton and loathsome witch, she is a loving and joyful soul, as the book is divided into sections where she talks about her life, and the letters by Charles to his wife in Ireland. Corrag was a nasty, dirty creature in chains in a dark and dank prison cell, and Reverend Leslie was a pious, self satisfied jerk. Alternately titled The Highland Witch or Witch Light, Corrag is a magical story about opening your heart to the beauty of your surroundings. When they tie me to the wood, I will say I have saved lives, and it will be a comfort and I will not mind the flames. The historical details of this book are woven into the story like a delicate and beautiful spider web, soft and seemingly fragile – not overbearing – but with strength and grace and functionality.

I could visualize, smell, taste and feel it all – the birds, the breath of the stag suspended in air, the feel of the tumbling waterfall. Corrag agrees to tell him her story so that the truth comes out and that she will not be alone in her final days. Corrag is a heroine the reader can root for, and, one might even learn a little about Scotland's history and the treatment of suspected witches. Susan Fletcher immediately transported me so thoroughly to a time and place, to ways of thinking and perceiving they are, for the time being, a part of me. I loved the way the author accomplished the telling of this story in these different layers of communication to the reader.Horrified, the locals who knew of the legend of Corrag immediately cast the sword back into the loch, hoping that they had done enough. Me ha recordado un poco en algunos aspectos a Ritos Funerarios, de Hannah Kent, así que si os gustó esa novela, creo que Corrag también puede encantaros. Corrag tells how she found the Highland and befriended the Macdonald clan when she was able to save their leader using her herbs and stitching skills. Nature itself is a main character, especially the Scottish Highlands, where Corrag decides to make her home. Charles is hoping to gain evidence that will prove that King William was involved in the Murder/Massacre so that King James could be reinstated.

Despite her life so far and her hardships, she has such a capacity for love and kindness for eveyone she meets.

The Highland Witch (entitled Corrag or Witch’s Light in some countries) by Susan Fletcher is based on the events of the 1692 Glencoe Massacre of Clan MacDonald, told from the perspective of a outsider named Corrag. Three times they attempted to carry Corrag to Eilean Munde, and three times they were driven back by the storm; as a witch, Corrag was not allowed to be buried on sacred ground. Si vous cherchez une lecture sympa pour Halloween cette année pendant ce mois d’octobre je vais lire pour la première fois une sélection spéciale Halloween 🎃 si vous avez des recommandations n’hésitez pas. Pg 15, as Corrag, in jail, reflects on the momentous parts of her life, she thinks about the power of place, of how the highlands changed her and "how he said 'you've changed me', as he stood by me side.