Pages: 384
Published: 27th April 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction
Content warnings: Misogyny, sexual content, allusions to rape
“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…
This is a story of sensationalism and scandal that has a strange effect of being a little underwhelming, yet extremely addictive to read. It bristles with intrigue and creates an irresistible premise that sits alongside a sinister atmosphere, only for the plot itself to fail to live up to its constant potential, with expected twists refusing to materialise and dual perspectives that are slightly lacking in clarity.
Inspired the true case of a woman who was sentenced to death for murdering her unsavoury lover, it has a great sense of place and uses mixed media to skilfully weave a sense of frivolity into the proceedings, as multiple chapters end with salacious excerpts from the Caledonia Broadside. At the heart of it though, are two female narrators from opposite walks of life who find themselves at the mercy of a powerful, manipulative man.
We already know at the beginning that Christian has been found guilty of James Forrester’s murder, but the questions lie in the chain of events which led her there. The first thing to say is that James is a truly pathological character – someone who treats women as objects and as a wealthy landowner, wields that status with poison beneath a veneer of respectability. Some of his actions are quite sickening, especially as we learn the full extent of his grooming and exploitation.
So in many ways Christian is a victim, and it is impossible not to feel bad for her at occasional moments. However, for the most part she is also not a very likeable character. That is not the case in the beginning, where she is innocent and inquisitive, but the respect she builds early on quickly diminishes as she commits adultery with barely a second thought and develops an obnoxious level of entitlement.
Christian is a much more hardened individual in the later timeline after she has gone through her trial and been condemned. It is quite a powerful contrast, although the dual timelines do not work especially well as her early escape from custody amounts to nothing and the friendship she strikes up with William along the way is massively underdeveloped. There are also several questions about her marriage to Andrew that are not properly addressed.
As for Violet, she is a curious one. She is an entertaining character to read and her point of view is distinctive for its many fourth wall breaks and playful tone. It takes a while to connect with her, but she does have some good intentions despite her craftiness and occasional dishonesty, which is mostly down to her livelihood and having a survival instinct. Still, there remains a hint of mystery about her beyond the last page.
What makes the plot so gripping is the promise of what will happen further down the line, and the supposed twists that are heading our way. We already know that James ends up dead and Christian is convicted, but it builds up our expectations that something will happen later on that changes everything. The reality, when we finally get there, is not as interesting as one might hope.
If there is any problem with the plot early on, then it is the fact that so much of it revolves around intimate relations. This level of sensuality was unnecessary and tiresome, but when the story takes a break from that, it is pretty absorbing and the action does actually rattle along at an extremely fast pace. The short chapters really added to this, so it was always tempting to read on regardless of the flaws.
When the scene we have all been waiting for arrives, it is fairly sudden and not at all revelatory; it just leads to a blame game in which both Christian and Violet become unreliable narrators for a time. But you know another twist is coming. And well, it is a twist and it definitely helps the reader to understand certain motives, but it is also not a twist because it changes very little. All told, it is not the most satisfactory resolution.
Some of the highlights come from the female side characters. Oriana was tragic in some ways and it was nice how she and Violet looked out for each other, though at times she was hard to pin down. The relationship between Christian and her mother was fascinating and it would have been nice if that was explored a little more. Meanwhile, Lilian was a delight even if she was not present in the story for long.
What cannot be criticised about this book is its setting. Late seventeenth century Edinburgh is realised exceptionally well, with Gothic vibes and a happily liberal use of Scottish dialect, which fits the tone of the story perfectly and is never overdone. The more rural backdrop and atmospheric interior of Corsterphine Castle is also brought to life, with James literally lording over the place with the women at his mercy.
As mentioned previously, the power of the writing is such that it keeps you hooked, even when there are undoubted issues with the plot. It does draw you in and there are passages that do stand out as rather poetic, but whether it sets itself apart from other books in the historical fiction genre and is worthy of the attention it has received, is highly debatable.
Overall, there is so much intrigue surrounding this book and its mystery that it is hard to resist, and the writing style plays a part in that by increasing the excitement for what is to come. Sadly, the execution lets it down in some areas and the narrative structure was disappointing, so it is ultimately a case of expectations not being fully met.
Kate Foster has had a long career as a journalist for national newspapers, mainly on the subject of health. At the age of 48, she became a debut author with The Maiden, which she was inspired to write based on the local folklore of her childhood.
Published in 2023, The Maiden became a bestseller and was nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect award 2020.
This book had me hooked, although the execution of the plot and storytelling was not the greatest. The mystery does not totally live up to its immense promise.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Stephen Reads Books 